The Indian government is making concerted efforts toward a balanced and mutually advantageous multi-sectoral India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement. This comes as trade tensions have escalated following the imposition of various duties by Washington, including an additional 25 percent duty on specific Indian goods due to continued imports of Russian crude oil. These restrictions impact several sectors, including steel, aluminium, and autos, which now face total additional import duties of 50 percent.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been conducting extensive consultations with Indian sectors concerned about competitive disadvantages and supply chain risks in the US market—India’s largest. To mitigate these effects, the government has launched the Export Promotion Mission and enhanced export credit guarantees. Crucially, major export commodities like pharmaceuticals, agriculture products, and information technology services remain unaffected by these additional tariffs.
India remains committed to maintaining its strategic autonomy while diversifying its export basket to reduce dependence on any single geography. While no set timeline has been established for concluding the new trade agreement, the MEA indicated that progress toward stabilization is expected soon. The goal of the pact is to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current levels.