India’s trade negotiations with the US is entering the final leg, with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal set to meet members of export promotion councils (EPCs) on Tuesday, and the US trade team likely to arrive in India next month for talks as New Delhi aim to wrap up negotiations by the end of the 90-day reciprocal tariffs pause, which ends on July 9, The Indian Express has learnt.
The consultation meeting with EPCs is scheduled after Goyal led the Indian delegation to Washington last week, where he met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to advance trade talks. India is seeking the elimination of the 26 per cent reciprocal tariff and duty-free entry for labour-intensive export items such as textiles and footwear in the US.
Indian goods currently attract a 10 per cent baseline US tariff which could continue even after the trade deal comes into effect.
India and the US had earlier decided to conclude the first phase of the proposed bilateral trade agreement by the autumn (September–October) of this year. However, both sides have now agreed on an interim trade deal before the first tranche, to be finalised by July 9. The interim deal is expected to cover a limited range of goods and services, with the US seeking market access in India for items including agricultural products.
However, US President Donald Trump has continued his tariff rhetoric targeting India. After Apple announced that a majority of iPhones to be sold in the US would be produced in India, Trump said on Friday that Apple would have to pay a 25 per cent tariff if it sold iPhones in the US that are built in India or elsewhere.
Trump also stated that he had told Apple CEO Tim Cook he does not want the company to expand its manufacturing operations in India unless it is to serve the Indian domestic market.
Moreover, an April report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) criticised various Indian trade barriers, including “localised internet shutdowns that disrupt commercial operations” and regulations requiring that “dairy products intended for food must be derived from animals that have not consumed feed containing blood meal”.
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“India requires that dairy products intended for food be derived from animals that have not consumed feed containing internal organs, blood meal, or tissues of ruminant or porcine origin, and that exporting countries certify to these conditions, which lack a discernible animal health or human health justification,” the report said.
Highlighting possible US demands in the ongoing negotiations, the report flagged India’s regulations on the import of milk, pork, and fish products, stating that they require genetically modified (GM)-free certificates “without providing a scientific or risk-based justification”.
Indicating that Washington fears another China in the making, the report said the US has placed India on the ‘Priority Watch List’ due to inconsistent progress on intellectual property (IP) concerns. It highlighted the absence of specific laws for trade secret protection as a significant issue, alongside long waiting periods for patent grants.
The US remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024–25, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion. The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India’s total goods exports, 6.22 per cent of imports, and 10.73 per cent of the country’s total merchandise trade.
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With the US, India had a trade surplus (the difference between exports and imports) of $41.18 billion in goods in 2024–25. It was $35.32 billion in 2023–24, $27.7 billion in 2022–23, $32.85 billion in 2021–22, and $22.73 billion in 2020–21.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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