Trade Deal

Indonesia signs trade deal with Trump admin, tariffs slashed to 19%

Indonesian coffee, chocolate, natural rubber and spices would be tariff-free, the Jakarta government said

India sheds defensive stance, negotiates future-focused trade deals: Goyal

Piyush Goyal says India has moved beyond apologetic trade talks, using FTAs as strategic tools to secure long-term economic gains while protecting sensitive sectors

Farmers' interests safeguarded in India-US trade deal, reiterates Chouhan

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said the recent India-US trade deal was finalised after careful consideration and the government has ensured that no decision would harm the farming community. Speaking at a programme in Jaipur, he said, "I am speaking with full responsibility as the Agriculture Minister of India. In the trade agreement, we have taken complete care of the interests of Indian farmers. It has been ensured that there will be no loss for India's farming community," he said. On imports, Chouhan said the country has to bring in the things it need. "Even today, we are not self-sufficient when it comes to pulses. If something that we need comes from another country, what is the objection?" he asked. Similarly, he said, India imports around 5.5 lakh metric tonnes of apples. "They come from countries like Turkey and Iran. If one lakh metric tonnes come from the United States, after ensuring that it does not affect our farmers, what is the problem?"

Rahul Gandhi to lead Congress rally against India-US trade deal in Punjab

The Congress will hold a rally over the issue of India-US trade deal in Punjab and it will be attended by Rahul Gandhi, said senior party leader Bhupesh Baghel here on Monday evening. Baghel said the rally is expected to be held either on February 28 or March 1. He said Rahul has been opposing the India-US trade deal in Lok Sabha and outside Lok Sabha and adding that he has already been raising farmers' related issues. "The fight over this issue (India-US trade deal) will begin from Punjab. A big rally will be held in which Rahul ji and other party leaders will be present," said Baghel. To a question on Union Home Minister Amit Shah asking Gandhi to debate this issue, Baghel said, "Amit Shah wants to hold a debate. We will come there. Farmers will come. You decide the time and place." Rahul has been attacking the BJP-led government and accusing it of a sell-out through the India-US trade deal and on Sunday he posed a string of questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged

India-US trade deal: Transparency on constraints and commitments needed

As questions linger over Russian oil, tariffs and market access, clarity on India's constraints and commitments is key to managing perceptions of the US trade deal

US interim trade deal opens door for tractor exports: Escorts Kubota CFO

The India-US interim trade deal gives a good opportunity to explore exporting of tractors to America, according to a senior official of farm and construction equipment firm Escorts Kubota. The company's Japanese parent Kubota Corporation has stated that it plans to turn India into its growth engine under its mid-term business plan for 2030, identifying business and projects from the country as one of the key aspects of the strategy. "We are not exporting to the US right now. We think with this tariff thing coming in now, probably this will give us a good opportunity to look at opening up that market again," Escorts Kubota Ltd whole-time director and CFO Bharat Madan told PTI. He was responding to a query on the impact of the India-US interim trade deal. "Right now, our parent company (Kubota) is exporting from Japan, and (US tariff on) Japan is about 15 per cent. So, there is not really a significant gap there (with that of India at 18 per cent," he noted. "That gives us a good ..

India to receive same garment duty benefits as B'desh in US deal: Goyal

Commerce minister says India will secure concessional-duty access for garments made from US yarn and cotton, similar to benefits obtained by Bangladesh

Datanomics: Gulf bloc's share in India's imports up, exports down

India, GCC begin FTA talks as import dependence deepens, export mix shifts toward electronics and away from energy over the past decade

'Govt sold Bharat Mata, wholesale surrender': Rahul on India-US trade deal

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the government has "sold Bharat Mata" through the India-US interim trade deal and that it was a "wholesale surrender" with India's energy security handed over to America and farmers' interests compromised. Participating in the debate on the Union Budget, he said that had an INDIA Bloc government negotiated the trade agreement with the US, it would have told US President Donald Trump that he should treat India as an equal. "You have sold India. Are you not ashamed of selling India? You have sold our mother, Bharat Mata," he said while referring to the trade agreement. The LoP said energy security has gone under the India-US trade deal, and the US will decide "whom we buy oil from". Gandhi said the interests of the farmers have been compromised, and the farmers are facing a "storm" as agricultural products from the US will flood Indian markets. He also alleged that the Indian textile industry is "finished". The Congress le

All key sensitive sectors protected under India-US trade pact: Comm Secy

India has always negotiated with a "clear mindset" on sectors that are "very" sensitive for the country in trade pacts and has protected all those key segments under the interim trade agreement with the US, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said. He also said that both teams are working to convert the joint statement into a legal agreement, which is expected to be finalised and signed before the end of March. "India has always negotiated all agreements with a clear mindset, anything that is very sensitive to India, anything where we feel our farmers, fishermen, dairy, they are going to be impacted, we have been very clear to our partner countries that India can not open up or provide access," he told reporters here. "If you look at all the agreements that we have done in the last year, five trade agreements that we did -- all the sensitive sectors have been protected. In the US, all the key sensitive sectors have been protected. Wherever there is a little sensitivity, we have used

'No deal but US steal': Congress' dig at govt over Indo-US trade agreement

The Congress on Wednesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the India-US interim trade agreement, saying the deal is a steal by the "PM's good friend in Washington" and reflects an "abject failure" of our "political huglomacy" as well as economic diplomacy. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said no matter what spin the "PM and his lie-brigade" may give, the hard reality is that the US has extracted more from India than it has conceded. "It is significant that a number of independent analysts and commentators -- who have not been Modi-unfriendly -- have criticised the India-US trade deal as a capitulation, an asymmetrical set of commitments, a sell-out, and a humiliating cave-in," Ramesh said. "Whatever the spin that the PM and his lie-brigade may give, the hard reality is that the US has extracted more from India than it has conceded. This is inspite of Mr. Modi's aggressive wooing of President Trump, including campaigning for him in

Tharoor slams govt over Union Budget, India-US trade pact in Lok Sabha

Tharoor slammed the Interim Trade Agreement with the United States, stating that 'it appears far less like a free trade agreement and far more like a pre-committed purchase'

US-Bangladesh pact unlikely to impact India's pharma, medtech exports

Industry executives say the US-Bangladesh reciprocal trade agreement is unlikely to materially affect India's pharma and medtech exports, given India's scale and established FDA-approved supply chains

US trims Bangladesh tariffs to 19%, eases access for some garments

Bangladesh on Monday secured a reduced 19 per cent tariff under a trade agreement with the United States that would exempt some textiles and garments manufactured with US materials, interim government chief Muhammad Yunus said. In an X post, he said Washington had "committed to establishing a mechanism for certain textile and apparel goods from Bangladesh using US-produced cotton and man-made fibre to receive zero reciprocal tariff in (the) US market". Yunus, known for his pro-US stance, said the deal was reached after nine months of negotiations since April last year. Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department or any office of the Trump administration made no immediate comment on the development. According to Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman, Bangladesh's key export-earning ready-made garments (RMG) made from cotton and synthetic fibres imported from the US would enjoy zero reciprocal duty under the deal. He said the agreement was signed in Washington by Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bash

The long road to $500 billion: India's US trade pledge won't be easy

India has agreed to buy $500 bn worth of US energy products and other goods as part of a trade deal. This won't be easy, for India has been diversifying its sources

Apparel industry lauds India-US interim trade deal as 'father of all deals'

Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council hailed the India-US interim trade agreement noting that the sector had been facing significant challenges over the past six months due to US tariffs

After the trade deal: Exporters will benefit if New Delhi stays active

The India-US interim trade framework signals a thaw in ties, tariff relief for exporters, protected farm interests, and a renewed push for reforms to make trade gains sustainable

Negotiating trade deals from a position of strength, says Piyush Goyal

The India of today is negotiating trade deals from a position of strength and confidence that it can offer a future market of USD 35 trillion, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday. "That's what is our negotiating strength," Goyal told PTI Videos in an interview. His first after India-US reached an agreement on tariffs, seen as a first step toward finalising a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). Today, India negotiates from a position of strength, "I start by saying look we are 4 trillion dollar economy today, but it is going to be 30-35 trillion by 2047, when we are a developed economy," he said. "And that is the confidence that india has today, that delta of opportunity from 4 trillion to 30-35 trillion, that is the future we offer," he added.

Farmers' interest protected in trade deal, says Shivraj Singh Chouhan

The India-US trade deal reduces tariffs on Indian goods in the US to 18 per cent, while Washington has claimed the deal will help it export more agricultural products to New Delhi

Huglomacy, photo-ops meant little: Congress on India-US interim trade pact

The Congress on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the interim trade agreement with the US, claiming the deal is stacked heavily against India and all the "huglomacy and photo-ops" have not amounted to much. Slamming the government, the opposition party cited a White House release which said the US will now monitor whether India is importing oil from Russia, and said "Naam Narender, Kaam Surrender". Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said the US-India joint statement just issued is silent on details. "But from what has been revealed, it is clear that: India will no longer import oil from Russia. Separately, the US has announced that a 25 per cent penalty could be reimposed if India buys oil directly or indirectly from Russia," Ramesh said on X. It has also been revealed that India will slash import duties to help American farmers at the cost of Indian farmers, Ramesh claimed. "India's annual imports from the USA will trip