India focused on trade deal with US, yet to reach out to Trump team on reciprocal tariffs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump

India is focusing on negotiating its proposed trade deal with the United States rather than engaging in talks over reciprocal tariffs given that the April 2nd implementation date for the latter remains uncertain, a senior government official said.

“US has not publicly said that they are applying reciprocal tariffs on India. There is a legal process, they are investigating, there has to be a legal outcome of it. We don’t know if reciprocal tariffs will come on April 2, because they (US) will complete investigation till April 1, after which they will ask for recommendation. But nobody is sure about reciprocal tariffs, till now we know there is an investigation that they are doing," the official said.

Given the uncertainty on the timeline as well as the nature of proposed reciprocal tariffs by America, India has instead deployed its energies on the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between the two nations and is currently working on drawing out the scope of the first tranche of the deal.

"We are currently working on deciding the scope of the first tranche of the BTA, and the schedules, which we will finalise, give us two to three weeks," the official said, adding that since it is not yet clear whether US will levy reciprocal tariffs on a sectoral basis or product-wise, New Delhi has not approached America on this specific policy.

Under its ‘Fair and Reciprocal Plan’ announced by the White House and to be implemented from April 2, the US is set to levy tariffs on countries that impose high duties on American goods. US President Trump has repeatedly called out India for levying high tariffs, especially on farm and automobiles.

"Both countries will have their demands, which is fair. That is why we are taking time to draw out a scope of the BTA. Reciprocal tariffs are not something we are engaging in, because it is America’s policy. With us they have chosen a bilateral path, so we are focusing on that. We do not know yet whether reciprocal tariffs will be sectoral, product wise. We have not approached US on reciprocal tariffs, we are talking to them as per our joint statement," the official added.

India and US are presently negotiating the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector BTA by fall 2025.

"India and US is regularly speaking on the BTA, it is a multi-sectoral trade deal, we haven’t decided on the contours yet. We haven’t decided what will be covered, what won’t be," the official said.

Recent reports have indicated that as part of the proposed trade deal between the two nations, Washington wants New Delhi to eliminate import duties on cars, while India is said to have agreed to reduce tariffs on certain US imports, such as apples, walnuts and cranberries.

Not just US, India is currently in talks for trade deals with a bunch of other countries and blocs, including United Kingdom, European Union, Oman and New Zealand.

Separately, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on March 17 said, "India is now very openly engaging with the rest of the world. We feel that this openness will help us in growing our trade. It will help our people, it will help our industry, and it’s a positive track which we are taking. So in all forms of discussions, we are engaged, we are quite open. Globally a lot of countries are finding good interest in India."