White House Unveils ‘Historic’ India–US Trade Framework

The White House on Monday released a detailed fact sheet outlining what it described as a “historic trade deal” between India and the United States, underscoring India’s status as an “important trade partner.” The document follows a joint statement issued last week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump.

According to the White House, the agreement is expected to significantly expand market access for American goods in India. “Last Friday, in a Joint Statement, President Donald J. Trump announced a trade deal between the United States and India that will open up India’s market of over 1.4 billion people to American products,” the statement said.

The fact sheet noted that the announcement followed a telephone conversation between the two leaders, during which they reached a framework for an Interim Agreement on reciprocal trade and reaffirmed their commitment to broader negotiations toward a US–India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

During the same call, President Trump agreed to roll back an additional 25 per cent tariff imposed on imports from India, citing New Delhi’s commitment to halt purchases of oil from the Russian Federation. “Accordingly, the President signed an Executive Order last Friday removing that additional 25% tariff,” the White House said.

The administration also announced a reduction in reciprocal duties. “Given India’s willingness to align with the United States to confront systemic imbalances in the bilateral trade relationship and shared national security challenges, the United States will lower the Reciprocal Tariff on India from 25% to 18%,” the statement added.

Outlining the key elements of the framework, the White House said India would eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and on a broad range of agricultural and food products. These include dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruits, certain pulses, soybean oil, wine and spirits, among others.

India has also committed to substantially increasing its purchases of American goods. According to the statement, New Delhi will buy more than USD 500 billion worth of US energy, information and communication technology products, agricultural goods, coal and other items. India will additionally work to address priority non-tariff barriers affecting bilateral trade.

On digital commerce, the White House said India would remove its digital services taxes and negotiate new bilateral rules to address what it termed “discriminatory or burdensome practices,” including provisions that would prohibit customs duties on electronic transmissions.

The two sides also agreed to negotiate rules of origin to ensure that the benefits of the agreement accrue predominantly to the United States and India. Further, Washington and New Delhi will strengthen cooperation on economic security, supply-chain resilience, investment screening and export controls, while significantly expanding bilateral trade and joint collaboration in technology.

Looking ahead, the statement said both governments would move swiftly to implement the framework and finalise the interim agreement. “In the coming weeks, the United States and India will promptly implement this framework and work toward finalising the Interim Agreement, with a view to concluding a mutually beneficial BTA,” the fact sheet said.

It added that negotiations would continue on outstanding issues, including services, investment, intellectual property, labour, environment, government procurement and the practices of state-owned enterprises.

“Today’s announcement provides a tangible path forward with India that underscores the President’s commitment to achieving balanced, reciprocal trade with an important trading partner,” the White House said.