E-Paper
India-US trade talks to begin in Washington today, Trump's tariffs in focus
A 12-member Indian delegation led by chief negotiator Darpan Jain will engage with US counterparts as both countries look to finalise the trade deal.
India and the United States are set to kick off a fresh round of high-stakes trade negotiations in Washington on Monday, April 20. The three day talks, from April 20-22, are to finalise the first phase of a proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).
A 12-member Indian delegation led by chief negotiator Darpan Jain is to engage with US counterparts in the first in-person talks since October 2025.
India-US trade deal: 10 points
1. Talks are being held from April 20-22 in Washington. They are being led by India’s chief negotiator Darpan Jain. Officials are from commerce, customs and external affairs ministries.
2. The discussions come after a major reset in the US tariff regime following a US Supreme Court ruling that struck down sweeping reciprocal tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
3. In their place, Washington rolled out a temporary flat 10% tariff on all countries for 150 days starting February 24 (to end on July 23).
4. The biggest trigger for renegotiation is the uniform 10% US tariff across all trading partners. Earlier, India secured a preferential structure with US tariffs on Indian goods set to drop from as high as 50% to 18%. This included removal of a 25% penalty linked to India’s purchase of Russian oil. That relative advantage has now been eroded.
5. With the deal yet to be signed, India has flexibility to revisit commitments. Officials told PTI the agreement will be “recalibrated and redrafted” to ensure India is not disadvantaged under the new global tariff framework.
6. An objective for New Delhi is to restore the cost advantage it earlier enjoyed in the US market. Under the previous terms, reduced tariffs gave Indian exporters an edge over competitors.
7. Under the February framework, India offered much concession to the US. These were - eliminating or reducing tariffs on US industrial goods, cutting duties on a wide range of agricultural products (tree nuts, fruits, soybean oil, DDGs, wine and spirits) and removing several non-tariff barriers. Many of these commitments could now be reworked.
8. India earlier indicated plans to purchase up to $500 billion worth of US goods over five years. This included energy, aircraft, semiconductor inputs, precious metals, and coking coal. This is also likely to be reassessed as the deal is redrafted.
9. Two ongoing probes by the US Trade Representative (USTR) under Section 301 (targeting alleged “excessive” manufacturing capacity in countries including India) are expected to be a major point. India has strongly contested these investigations and is pushing for their withdrawal. They are unjustified, New Delhi said.
10. A February meeting between chief negotiators was postponed due to the tariff upheaval. The current Washington round is basically a reset. It is also taking place under a completely altered global trade environment.
Trade dynamics
The negotiations come at a time when -
- China has overtaken the US as India’s largest trading partner in 2025-26.
- India’s exports to the US rose marginally by 0.92% to $87.3 billion.
- Imports from the US jumped 15.95% to $52.9 billion.
- The trade surplus narrowed to $34.4 billion from $40.89 billion.
(With PTI inputs)
