S Jaishankar on India-US trade talks: ‘Negotiations continue, but we have some red lines’

External affairs minister S Jaishankar

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that India-US trade negotiations are currently underway, however, the bottom line is that “we have some red lines” – just days before heavy extra US tariffs are due to hit Indian goods.

“Negotiations are still going on in the sense that nobody said the negotiations are off. People do talk to each other. It is not like there's a 'kutti' there,” he said at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum 2025.

“Where we are concerned, the red lines are primarily the interests of our farmers and, to some extent, of our small producers... We, as a government, are committed to defending the interests of our farmers and our small producers. We are very determined on that. That's not something that we can compromise on,” he added.

Talks between India and the US collapsed as India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, opposed opening up its massive agricultural and dairy sectors, despite bilateral trade exceeding $190 billion.

#WATCH | Delhi: At The Economic Times World Leaders Forum 2025, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, "Negotiations (India-US trade negotiations) are still going on. But the bottom line is we have some red lines. Negotiations are still going on in the sense that nobody said the negotiations… pic.twitter.com/deCHoeDSrx

— ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2025

Indian exports face US duties of up to 50 per cent -- which happens to be among the highest imposed by Washington -- after President Donald Trump announced extra tariffs as a punishment over purchases of Russian oil.

Currently, a 25 per cent tariff on the import of Indian goods into the US has come into effect, while the remaining 25 per cent is set to be enforced from August 27.

On a question over Trump’s hard stance against India, Jaishankar said, "We've not had a US President who's conducted foreign policy as publicly as the current one. That itself is a departure that's not limited to India... President Trump's way of dealing with the world, even dealing with his own country, is a very major departure from the traditional orthodox manner of doing so.”

Earlier, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said that India will address its future trade relationship with the United States with a "very open mind".

Speaking at the same event, Goyal said India is addressing the issue of trade with US with a "very open mind, a positive outlook and the confidence that India-US relationship is very consequential and very important to both the countries."