Rising Bharat Summit: India should ask US what is in the deal for us now, says GTRI's Srivastava

Rising Bharat Summit: India should ask US what is in the deal for us now, says GTRI's Srivastava

• India re-evaluates US trade deal talks after Supreme Court ruling
• US cuts tariffs on Indian goods from 18% to zero
• India delays talks to gain leverage post reciprocal tariffs removal

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All countries who have done trade deals are now facing the same dilemma, which India is facing, Ajay Srivastava, Founder, GTRI said on Friday, adding that India should ask US -- "what is in it for us now?"

"The tariffs now are the same in all countries. Trade deals are not charity. Before the US Supreme Court struck down reciprocal tariffs, India was having some leverage over its peers. Now, that is gone," Srivastava said at the Rising Bharat Summit 2026.

Moneycontrol has reported earlier this week that the Central government is evaluating "all aspects" of the US Supreme Court ruling, which is why the talks around the interim trade framework have been deferred.

A source aware of the development said that the government is looking at freshly negotiating some provisions of the trade deal – so that it can get an edge over other countries.

"India must wait and watch on US trade policy. President Trump won't be able to impose tariffs on ad hoc manner now. We should see how the whole situation in US plays out," said Biswajit Dhar, Professor, Council for Social Development.

A three-day trade meeting between officials from New Delhi and Washington was scheduled to begin on February 23, to finalize the terms of the interim trade deal that was announced earlier this month, but it has now been deferred.

Under the agreement, US had agreed to cut tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent from 50 percent imposed earlier. Both sides had issued a joint statement that provided a clear path forward for further discussions before finalising the comprehensive deal.

However, post the US Supreme Court ruling -- which struck down Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs -- the Indian government is re-looking at the negotiations, sources say.

To be sure, the US top court ruling effectively ended all reciprocal tariffs. Meaning, the 18 percent rate reduced to zero.

Last week, post the US Supreme Court's ruling, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on all countries, including India, effective February 24 for a period of 150 days. A day later, he announced that the rate would be raised to 15%.

Author and Policy Thinker Gurcharan Das, however, said that the government shouldn't try and re-negotiate the trade deal. "We have rationalised our over regulated imported regime. Do the deregulation that we have started."

"Trump is our best friend, and America's enemy. He is forcing us to do what we haven't been able to do for last 80 years -- which is to open up and deregulate our economy," added Das.