India - US Tariff and Relations | News + Updates
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ghazi52
THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
In a separate post, the opposition party also called the deal “the lowest moment” for India and criticised Modi’s apparent bowing down to Trump.
“Narendra Modi surrendered India’s sovereignty to the US to keep his friend and himself out of jail,” it said, apparently referring to businessman and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.
“This is the lowest moment for the country. Complete surrender without even fighting!”
“Narendra Modi surrendered India’s sovereignty to the US to keep his friend and himself out of jail,” it said, apparently referring to businessman and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.
“This is the lowest moment for the country. Complete surrender without even fighting!”
Baibers_1260
Trusted Member
A pretty unbiased analysis:
From the Kyiv Post
Trade Deal by Tweet: Why US-India ‘Breakthrough’ Is Still Unproven
By Andrew Thomson,February 3rd 2026
While Washington and New Delhi are celebrating the announcement of a trade deal, the devil in the details is raising its voice to throw shade on what is effectively a statement of intent.
The US-India trade deal announced by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been hailed as a major breakthrough, complete with lower tariffs, geopolitical realignment, and a dramatic shift in India’s energy policy. Markets cheered, headlines declared winners, and officials spoke of renewed warmth in bilateral ties. But strip away the celebratory tone, and what remains is not a detailed agreement – only a set of social media posts and loosely aligned talking points.
At face value, the headline concession is clear. Trump says the United States will cut tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 18% and scrap an additional 25% punitive levy imposed over India’s continued purchases of Russian crude. In exchange, he claims Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to sharply increase imports of US energy, agricultural products, and other goods. Modi confirmed the tariff reduction and welcomed improved access for “Made in India” products to the US market.
Beyond that narrow overlap, however, the narratives diverge – and the omissions are telling.
The most controversial issue is Russian oil. Trump stated unequivocally that India had agreed to halt such purchases, framing the move as a step toward ending Russia’s war on Ukraine. Modi, by contrast, made no mention of Russian oil at all.
Given the economic and geopolitical stakes, this silence is not incidental. Russian crude has become central to India’s energy security, and walking away from it abruptly would carry inflationary and growth risks – an assessment echoed by Moody’s Ratings, which has warned that India is unlikely to immediately stop all Russian imports. That caution is reinforced by reality: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin personally assuredIndia of “uninterrupted” energy supplies in late 2025. Even though recent purchases of Russian crude by India have seen a sharp reduction due to pressure exerted by the Trump Administration, eliminating them completely carries a set of geopolitical and strategic risks for India.
The second major fault line lies in trade reciprocity, especially agriculture. Trump’s post claims India will slash tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States “to ZERO” and commit to buying more than $500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural, and other products.
These are extraordinary claims – and entirely unsupported by Modi’s statement, which offers no specifics on agricultural imports, market access, or quotas. And this is not surprising as Indian agriculture has been a major sticking point during the ongoing process of trade negotiations between the two countries. Indian farmers are the backbone of Modi’s electorate. For US farmers and exporters long frustrated by India’s protectionist barriers, the absence of detail makes the promise effectively unverifiable.
Yet despite these gaps, much of the coverage has rushed ahead to declare strategic winners. India is now portrayed as enjoying a decisive tariff advantage over China with 35% and key Asian export rivals such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. That may eventually prove true, but it assumes the deal is finalized, enforceable, and durable. At present, there is no published agreement, no legal text, and no implementation framework – only political declarations
As Karti P. Chidambaram, a parliamentarian from the opposition Congress Party, bluntly observed, this is “only a social media post, with no details available.” That critique goes to the heart of the matter. Trade deals are not judged by enthusiasm or intent, but by fine print, timelines, and compliance. On the two most sensitive issues – Russian oil and US agricultural access – the fine print is entirely absent.
For now, what has been announced is best understood as a statement of political intent, not a completed trade agreement. Until concrete terms are released and independently assessed, claims of victory are premature. In trade diplomacy, announcements are easy. Delivery is not – and that is where this deal will ultimately be tested.
Andrew Thompson
Andrew Thompson is an Irish journalist based in Asia, covering regional developments for the Kyiv Post. A long-time supporter of Ukraine’s independence, he previously worked on democratic development projects with international organizations in Kyiv.
@vasanthm
@SoulSpokesman
@Vikramaditya1
Baibers_1260
Trusted Member
The former finance minister?
vasanthm
Trusted Member
Pakistan Space Agency
Elite Member
What is this nonsense that you're spouting?
Pakistan-US bilateral trade is miniscule at only $10.1 billion for 2024.
Pakistan
U.S.-Pakistan Trade Facts Pakistan is currently our 62nd largest goods trading partner with $5.3 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2013. Goods exports totaled $1.6 billion; Goods imports totaled $3.7 billion. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Pakistan was $2.0 billion in 2013...
Pakistan-EU bilateral trade is also tiny at $18 billion for 2025.
So what have the US-India and EU-India trade deals got to do with Pakistan?
Baibers_1260
Trusted Member
@Vkdindian1 @vasanthm @SoulSpokesman
From The Indian Express, February 3rd 2026
After US President Donald Trump on Monday slashed tariffs on India from 50 per cent to 18 per cent under the India-US trade deal, the American Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins said that the trade deal will improve access to American farm products to “India’s massive market”. This comes amid farmers’ concerns over a surge in imports of US farm products as Washington is considered to be among the world’s largest agricultural subsidisers.
While it remains unclear which agricultural product categories have been opened under the trade deal, the US trade deals under the Trump administration have had an aggressive emphasis on agriculture. The US not only sought market access for agriculture in all of the trade deals struck under Trump’s second term, but also renegotiated deals to include farm products during the last 12 months alone.
“The new US-India deal will export more American farm products to India’s massive market, lifting prices and pumping cash into rural America. In 2024, America’s agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. India’s growing population is an important market for American agricultural products,a nd today’s deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit,” Rollins said
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said, “The Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] also committed to ‘BUY AMERICAN,” at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on multiple occasions expressed his commitment to preventing any adverse impact on Indian farmers. On August 7, after the US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50 per cent, Modi said that he would not compromise “even if it entailed paying a very heavy personal price”.
“The well-being of Indian farmers, fisherfolk and cattle keepers is our foremost priority. Modi is standing like a wall against any adverse policy that could impact Indian farmers, fisherfolk and cattle keepers. India will never compromise the interests of Indian farmers, fisherfolk and cattle keepers,” the Prime Minister said during his Independence Day speech.
The Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements (ICCFM), a farmers’ body, had asked the government last year to exclude all aspects of agriculture from the US trade deal in order to protect the interests of Indian farmers.
In a letter to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, the ICCFM warned that granting duty-free access to US agricultural products under a trade agreement could have serious consequences. It said that the US has been engaged in a trade war with China, Mexico and Canada since 2018, which has severely affected its agricultural exports.
“The US trade deficit in agriculture has nearly doubled, indicating a significant surplus they may seek to offload onto markets like India. For example, soybean exports from the US dropped from $34.4 billion in 2022 to $24.5 billion in 2024, while corn exports fell from $18.6 billion to $13.9 billion during the same period,” the letter stated.
The ICCFM further emphasised the risk to Indian farmers, stating that the US government is among the world’s largest agricultural subsidisers. The 2024 US Farm Bill has allocated a staggering $1.5 trillion towards farm subsidies to American farmers.
These substantial supports not only restrict agricultural imports into the US but also enable American products to enter export markets at artificially low prices. Allowing such heavily subsidised US imports into India, the ICCFM argued, would undermine India’s longstanding position at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against these very subsidies.
A report by the State Bank of India (SBI) also cautioned that opening India’s dairy sector to US imports could result in an annual loss of Rs 1.03 lakh crore to Indian dairy farmers. The report highlighted that milk prices in India could drop by at least 15 per cent if the sector is opened up, significantly affecting the livelihoods of small dairy farmers due to the heavily subsidised US dairy industry.
From The Indian Express, February 3rd 2026
US agriculture secretary signals more exports to India, fuelling import concerns
The Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements (ICCFM), a farmers’ body, had asked the government last year to exclude all aspects of agriculture from the US trade deal in order to protect the interests of Indian farmers.
After US President Donald Trump on Monday slashed tariffs on India from 50 per cent to 18 per cent under the India-US trade deal, the American Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins said that the trade deal will improve access to American farm products to “India’s massive market”. This comes amid farmers’ concerns over a surge in imports of US farm products as Washington is considered to be among the world’s largest agricultural subsidisers.
While it remains unclear which agricultural product categories have been opened under the trade deal, the US trade deals under the Trump administration have had an aggressive emphasis on agriculture. The US not only sought market access for agriculture in all of the trade deals struck under Trump’s second term, but also renegotiated deals to include farm products during the last 12 months alone.
“The new US-India deal will export more American farm products to India’s massive market, lifting prices and pumping cash into rural America. In 2024, America’s agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. India’s growing population is an important market for American agricultural products,a nd today’s deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit,” Rollins said
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said, “The Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] also committed to ‘BUY AMERICAN,” at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on multiple occasions expressed his commitment to preventing any adverse impact on Indian farmers. On August 7, after the US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50 per cent, Modi said that he would not compromise “even if it entailed paying a very heavy personal price”.
“The well-being of Indian farmers, fisherfolk and cattle keepers is our foremost priority. Modi is standing like a wall against any adverse policy that could impact Indian farmers, fisherfolk and cattle keepers. India will never compromise the interests of Indian farmers, fisherfolk and cattle keepers,” the Prime Minister said during his Independence Day speech.
The Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements (ICCFM), a farmers’ body, had asked the government last year to exclude all aspects of agriculture from the US trade deal in order to protect the interests of Indian farmers.
In a letter to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, the ICCFM warned that granting duty-free access to US agricultural products under a trade agreement could have serious consequences. It said that the US has been engaged in a trade war with China, Mexico and Canada since 2018, which has severely affected its agricultural exports.
“The US trade deficit in agriculture has nearly doubled, indicating a significant surplus they may seek to offload onto markets like India. For example, soybean exports from the US dropped from $34.4 billion in 2022 to $24.5 billion in 2024, while corn exports fell from $18.6 billion to $13.9 billion during the same period,” the letter stated.
The ICCFM further emphasised the risk to Indian farmers, stating that the US government is among the world’s largest agricultural subsidisers. The 2024 US Farm Bill has allocated a staggering $1.5 trillion towards farm subsidies to American farmers.
These substantial supports not only restrict agricultural imports into the US but also enable American products to enter export markets at artificially low prices. Allowing such heavily subsidised US imports into India, the ICCFM argued, would undermine India’s longstanding position at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against these very subsidies.
A report by the State Bank of India (SBI) also cautioned that opening India’s dairy sector to US imports could result in an annual loss of Rs 1.03 lakh crore to Indian dairy farmers. The report highlighted that milk prices in India could drop by at least 15 per cent if the sector is opened up, significantly affecting the livelihoods of small dairy farmers due to the heavily subsidised US dairy industry.
Vkdindian1
Registered Member
That’s the point. What did Munir do about it after getting a favourable term of 19% as the most favourable FM?
Weren’t you declaring multiple fold increase of trade with US and an economic turnaround ?
Many people are still butthurt. They still want to turn this around into, Modi kissed this and that. Modi showed a big finger and got the best trade deal in this part of the world. While many others happily signed on the dotted lines within days of Trump’s demands. They didn’t have the gumption to take a little while, study the deal and offer made, but who is the weakling here? Modi.
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Baibers_1260
Trusted Member
5
Will you be seeing Kraft cheese sold in Big Bazaar instead of Amul ?
I just LOVE Kraft Cheddar.
Heinze Tomato Ketchup instead of Maggi
Smucker's Jam instead of Kissan ?
( Yummy )
Looks like Agriculture products from the US of A will soon be on the shelves in India.
Will you be seeing Kraft cheese sold in Big Bazaar instead of Amul ?
I just LOVE Kraft Cheddar.
Heinze Tomato Ketchup instead of Maggi
Smucker's Jam instead of Kissan ?
( Yummy )
vasanthm
Trusted Member
As I have posted earlier, we will allow agri byproduct like DDGS, Sorghum, corn protein etc . But not grains directly, have to wait for info but that's my guess..
CallSignMaverick
Registered Member
Baibers_1260
Trusted Member
Positive development:
Don't know if India will be importing SPAM and Hormel canned products as well .
Yasser76
Elite Member
Shiv "We host down an F-16 in 2019" rushing in on damage limitation as per BJP orders
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