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US commercialized typical Jamieson Greer connected Tuesday outlined the Trump administration’s rationale for imposing an 18% tariff connected Indian goods, citing Washington's ample commercialized shortage with New Delhi.Greer said the US is moving to formally finalise the commercialized statement with India announced earlier this week and is successful the process of putting the details connected paper.
Why the US is imposing tariffs
Explaining the determination to clasp a baseline 18% tariff, Greer said the determination reflects the size and maturation of India’s commercialized surplus with the US."The crushed we’re maintaining immoderate level of tariff 18% is due to the fact that we person this elephantine commercialized shortage with them," helium said, adding that India has agreed to trim its tariffs connected a scope of US products.According to US Census Bureau data, India’s commercialized surplus with the US reached USD 53.5 cardinal during the archetypal 11 months of 2025, compared to USD 45.8 cardinal for each of 2024.Under the agreement, the US volition trim tariffs connected astir Indian goods to 18% from 50%. "We’ll decorativeness papering it, but we cognize the specifics, we cognize the details," Greer said, adding that India is maintaining immoderate extortion astir cultivation goods.
Zero tariffs connected respective US products
Greer said India has agreed to chopped tariffs connected American concern goods to zero from 13.5% and trim duties connected a wide scope of cultivation and manufactured products."For a assortment of things, you know, histrion nuts, wine, spirits, fruits, vegetables, etc, they're going down to zero," helium said.However, helium did not notation rice, beef, soybeans, sweetener oregon dairy products that India besides excluded from its caller commercialized statement with the European Union.
Agriculture, vigor commercialized and Russian oil
Greer said the US would proceed to propulsion for greater entree to protected areas of India’s agriculture assemblage and that the 2 sides had reached an knowing connected method barriers to trade."We’ve reached an knowing and an statement with the Indians arsenic good connected a assortment of method barriers to trade, areas wherever they person not accepted US standards. We cognize American goods are safe," helium said.He added that determination would beryllium "a process for recognising US standards," though India would person to spell done its ain governmental processes earlier accepting them.
Once implemented, helium said, this would unfastened a marketplace of much than 1 cardinal radical to much US goods.Greer besides said the US medication has been intimately tracking India’s vigor commercialized patterns, peculiarly its imports of Russian crude oil."Have been monitoring Indians winding down acquisition of Russian oil," helium said, adding that determination are "a batch of opportunities for India to diversify proviso and bargain much US product.”He said India did not import Russian lipid anterior to 2022 and 2023 and has been moving since precocious past twelvemonth to standard down specified purchases.The remarks travel aft US President Donald Trump said connected February 2 that Washington would chopped reciprocal tariffs connected Indian goods to 18% pursuing a telephone telephone with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, efficaciously sealing the deal.In a station connected Truth Social, Trump said India had agreed to trim tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US to zero and committed to importantly higher purchases of American products."They volition likewise determination guardant to trim their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO," Trump said, adding that India had committed to buying implicit $500 cardinal worthy of US energy, technology, cultivation and different products.
India confirms delicate sectors protected
Commerce and manufacture curate Piyush Goyal said India has ensured that its delicate agriculture and dairy sectors stay afloat protected nether the agreement."The statement volition support the delicate sectors, the interests of our agriculture and our dairy sectors successful afloat respect," Goyal said astatine a property briefing.He said the woody would unfastened opportunities for labour-intensive sectors specified arsenic textiles, apparel, location décor, leather and footwear, gems and jewellery, integrated chemicals, rubber goods, machinery and aircraft, with US duties connected these products coming down to 18% .Calling it a "very good" agreement, Goyal said Indian exporters are present amended placed than competitors which proceed to look higher tariffs successful the US market.The simplification of US tariffs connected Indian goods to 18% is expected to amended India’s competitiveness successful the American market. Key rival countries look higher tariffs, including Vietnam and Bangladesh astatine 20% , Malaysia astatine 19% , and Cambodia and Thailand astatine 19% each.
What the commercialized woody means and however India benefits
Under the projected pact, India is expected to destruct duties connected immoderate products immediately, signifier retired tariffs connected others, and trim import duties successful prime sectors. Certain items whitethorn besides person quota-based tariff concessions. Sensitive sectors specified arsenic agriculture and dairy, however, are wholly excluded from the agreement, PTI reported.Greater clarity connected tariff changes is expected done a US enforcement bid and a associated India-US statement, some of which are awaited.The statement is apt to payment labour-intensive sectors that person been deed by steep US tariffs. These see garments, leather and non-leather footwear, gems and jewellery, plastics, chemicals, carpets and handicrafts. Exports from these sectors presently look tariffs of up to 50% , which volition beryllium reduced to 18% .Between 2021 and 2025, the United States remained India’s largest trading spouse successful goods. The US accounts for astir 18% of India’s full exports, 6.22% of imports and 10.73% of wide bilateral trade.
Major traded products
In 2024, India’s cardinal exports to the US included cause formulations and biologicals (USD 8.1 billion), telecom instruments (USD 6.5 billion), precious and semi-precious stones (USD 5.3 billion), petroleum products (USD 4.1 billion), golden and different precious metallic jewellery (USD 3.2 billion), conveyance and car components (USD 2.8 billion), ready-made fabric garments (USD 2.8 billion), and robust and alloy products (USD 2.7 billion).Imports from the US included crude lipid (USD 4.5 billion), petroleum products (USD 3.6 billion), ember and coke (USD 3.4 billion), chopped and polished diamonds (USD 2.6 billion), electrical machinery (USD 1.4 billion), craft and spacecraft parts (USD 1.3 billion), and golden (USD 1.3 billion).US services imports from India were estimated astatine USD 40.6 cardinal successful calendar twelvemonth 2024, led by machine and accusation services (USD 16.7 billion) and concern absorption and consulting services (USD 7.5 billion).
