Amendments made to India-US trade deal factsheet based on ‘shared understanding’, says MEA

Amendments made to India-US trade deal factsheet based on ‘shared understanding’, says MEA

India said on Thursday that a joint statement issued with the US remains the basis for a proposed interim trade agreement, and that the American side amended a White House fact sheet on the trade deal to reflect the understandings reached so far between the two sides.

India and US issued a joint statement on the "historic" trade deal between the two countries in February (AFP)

The fact sheet, issued by the White House on Monday, caused controversy as it said that India would reduce tariffs on “certain pulses” and had “committed” to buying American goods, including energy and technology, worth $500 billion over five years. The document was subsequently revised to drop these contentious issues.

Asked about the matter at a weekly media briefing, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made it clear that the joint statement on a framework for an interim agreement on “reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade”, issued on February 7, remained the main document guiding the work towards a trade deal.

“The joint statement is the framework and remains the basis of our mutual understanding in the matter. Both sides will now work towards implementing this framework and finalising the interim agreement,” he said. “The amendments in the US fact sheet reflect the shared understandings contained in the joint statement.”

The Indian side had raised the contentious wording and issues in the fact sheet, on which there was no agreement as yet, with Washington, resulting in the amendments, people familiar with the matter said.

The amended fact sheet deleted “certain pulses” from the agricultural products for which India has agreed to slash tariffs, such as tree nuts, soybean oil, wine and spirits. It also removed a reference to India removing its digital services taxes, with the new version stating that the Indian side is “committed to negotiate” digital trade rules.

The amended fact sheet also stated that India “intends to buy” more US goods, rather than making a commitment to purchase such products, bringing it in line with the joint statement.

Pulses are a politically sensitive product for India, the world’s largest producer and consumer of the item. Farmers’ groups have expressed dissatisfaction with the trade understandings reached by India and the US, and the opposition has criticised the government over the proposed opening up of the agricultural sector.

In the case of digital services, India removed its 6% equalisation levy on digital advertising services from April 1, 2025, through the Finance Bill, 2025.

The final contours of the trade deal are expected to become clear by March, almost a year after the two sides began discussions on the matter. Bilateral relations came under strains not witnessed in the past two decades after Trump hit Indian exports with a 25% reciprocal tariff and then doubled the figure with a punitive levy over Russian oil purchases. Following the recent understanding, the tariffs were cut from 50% to 18%, providing relief to Indian exporters.

However, the Trump administration has warned that the punitive tariff will be applied again if India resumes purchases of Russian oil. Russian energy imports have fallen in recent months, though the Indian side has said it will maintain multiple sources and that national interest will be the deciding factor in oil purchases.