New Delhi, Mar 8 (UNI) Amid President Donald Trump’s claim that India has agreed to lower tariffs on US goods “because somebody is finally exposing them”, sources said today that India has reduced tariffs significantly for key developed countries as part of FTAs, and similar negotiations are currently on with the EU and UK, as also with the United States as part of a trade deal.
According to the sources, in February 2025, India and the US agreed to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the Fall of 2025.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump agreed to designate senior representatives to advance the negotiations. They were to work towards increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers and deepening supply chain integration, the sources added.
Accordingly, an Indian delegation led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited Washington from March 3-6. It engaged the US Commerce Secretary, the US Trade Representative and their teams.
“Discussions on tariffs and other aspects of trade that were highlighted during PM Modi’s visit to Washington DC are an ongoing process.
“Obviously, there are specifics which have been mentioned on various issues as part of the negotiation,” the sources said.
“It is also natural that both countries have their interests and sensitivities. These are legitimate matters for a discussion.”
“It may be recalled that, during the first Trump Administration, discussions also took place about a limited trade deal between the two nations. For various reasons, it did not produce an outcome.”
“Since the discussions have just begun, it would be premature to talk about its details. There is also a context for each dimension, that would reflect the interests of both sides.”
“It would be recalled that India has reduced its average applied tariffs significantly for key developed countries like Australia, UAE, Switzerland, Norway, etc., under recently concluded mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreements.
“Similar negotiations are currently underway with the European Union and the United Kingdom, among other partners. The ongoing discussions with the United States should be seen in this context,” the sources said.
On Friday, President Trump said at the White House: “India charges us massive tariffs. Massive. You can’t even sell anything in India…They have agreed, by the way; they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done.”
During his address to the US Congress on March 4, Trump had criticised India for “imposing high tariffs” on exports from the US and announced that the US would impose reciprocal tariffs from April 2.
On Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing that India and the US are in the process of advancing discussions on a multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement to strengthen two-way trade across all sectors.
“Our objective through the BTA is to strengthen and deepen India-US two-way trade across the goods and services sector, increase market access, reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, and deepen supply chain integration between the two countries,” he said.
The Joint Statement issued after the meeting between PM Modi and President Trump in the White House on February 13 also had a section mentioning the BTA and the lowering of tariffs.
It said:
“The first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) would be ready by fall of 2025.
“The two sides agreed to demonstrate mutual commitment to address bilateral trade barriers.
“The United States welcomed India’s recent measures to lower tariffs on U.S. products of interest in the areas of bourbon, motorcycles, ICT products and metals, as well as measures to enhance market access for U.S. agricultural products, like alfalfa hay and duck meat, and medical devices. India also expressed appreciation for U.S. measures taken to enhance exports of Indian mangoes and pomegranates to the United States. Both sides also pledged to collaborate to enhance bilateral trade by increasing U.S. exports of industrial goods to India and Indian exports of labor-intensive manufactured products to the United States. The two sides will also work together to increase trade in agricultural goods.”
