India is pushing for complete relief from both the 26% additional reciprocal tariff and the existing 10% baseline US duty in an interim trade agreement likely to be finalised before 8 July, according to a report by The Hindu Business Line.
Hon’ble Commerce & Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal visited Washington earlier this week to fast-track the negotiations. He met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to advocate for key concessions across India’s labour-intensive sectors—particularly textiles, leather, and gems and jewellery.
An official told The Hindu Business Line that talks are progressing positively and that the goal is to announce a first-phase deal ahead of the 9 July deadline, when the 90-day suspension of the additional tariffs is set to expire. The interim agreement could include provisions related to goods, services, digital trade, and the easing of non-tariff barriers.
The US imposed the 26% tariff on Indian exports on 2 April as part of a reciprocal measure but deferred implementation until 9 July. While the suspension provides a temporary reprieve, the existing 10% baseline tariff remains in force. India is now seeking to eliminate both.
To protect its own sensitive sectors—like agriculture and dairy—India may offer minimum import prices or quotas as part of the deal. In exchange, it is pushing for expanded market access for products such as gems and jewellery, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, grapes, and bananas.
Meanwhile, the US is demanding duty relief on industrial goods, electric vehicles, petrochemical products, wines, dairy, and genetically modified crops. Negotiations are being conducted in a tight window as both nations attempt to leverage the tariff pause to conclude the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement.
As per The Hindu Business Line, both sides are aiming to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. The US has consistently raised concerns about India’s non-tariff barriers and its growing trade surplus. In FY2024-25, bilateral trade stood at $131.84 billion, with India maintaining a surplus of $41.18 billion.
The US has been India’s largest trading partner for four consecutive years and currently accounts for around 18% of India’s total goods exports.