India is hopeful of resuming negotiations with the US on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), officials said Thursday, adding that resolving the issue relating to the steep 50% tariffs on Indian goods will be key to striking the deal.
The government is considering support measures for exporters, including speedy roll out of the export promotion mission and a possible restoration of some old schemes.
Washington's 50% tariffs on India came into effect August 27. "Both (25% reciprocal tariff and another 25% penalty for buying Russian oil) need to be resolved to strike the deal," the official said.
However, the government does not see the removal of the 25% penalty tariffs as a precondition to resume talks.
The sixth round of talks for the BTA was scheduled for August 25 in New Delhi, but the American delegation cancelled their visit. The two sides aim to conclude the first tranche of talks by Fall this year. The trade pact aims to more-than-double the bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $191 billion.
"We have not finalised the new dates because of the overhang of this (50%) additional tariff. It was not practical to have official level discussions on the entire BTA (because of these high tariffs). We hope that we will get back to the table soon," the official said, adding whenever the deal is struck, the tariff issues need to be addressed.
Washington has sought reduced tariffs on products like corn, soybeans, apples, almonds and ethanol, as well as increased access for US dairy products. However, New Delhi has opposed these demands as it affects the livelihood of small and marginal farmers.
In April-July FY26, India's goods exports to the US rose 21.64% to $33.53 billion, while imports were up 12.33% to $17.41 billion.
Engagement key
Insisting that the Indian industry's key demand is that a deal should be in the best interest of the country, the official said "We are engaged. We feel that India and the US are complementary economies and both countries need to reach a deal, but a deal which is a win-win proposition, and which is in the national interest of both the countries."
India and the US are at the official level discussing bilateral ties in the areas of trade and investment, critical minerals, and energy security, including strengthening civil nuclear cooperation under the framework of 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue this week. "That means the engagement between the two countries is going on. On the trade front also, the engagement at commerce ministry level is going on. We are talking to each other," the official added.
Support measures
Officials said the government is working on extending support measures for exporters such as rollout of export promotion mission, moratorium on loans, diversification of exports, implementation of new free trade agreements (FTAs), and growing domestic market to shield them from the impact of the 50 % US tariff. Export promotion incentives cannot be very high but for the sectors getting hit, there's virtually a trade embargo in place. "You can't export with 50% tariffs. The incentives cannot fix that," they said.
"The government is trying to speed up the rollout of the export promotion mission and expediting the e-commerce export hub scheme," the official said. The support is crucial as labour-intensive sectors such as machinery, shrimp, textiles, leather and footwear, gems and jewellery would be the most impacted by the tariffs. Support measures worth about ₹25,000 crore for exporters under this mission, announced in Budget FY26, for 2025-2031 are to be implemented. Exporters have sought help at the liquidity front, and these suggestions are under consideration, the official said.
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The government is considering support measures for exporters, including speedy roll out of the export promotion mission and a possible restoration of some old schemes.
Washington's 50% tariffs on India came into effect August 27. "Both (25% reciprocal tariff and another 25% penalty for buying Russian oil) need to be resolved to strike the deal," the official said.
However, the government does not see the removal of the 25% penalty tariffs as a precondition to resume talks.
The sixth round of talks for the BTA was scheduled for August 25 in New Delhi, but the American delegation cancelled their visit. The two sides aim to conclude the first tranche of talks by Fall this year. The trade pact aims to more-than-double the bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $191 billion.
"We have not finalised the new dates because of the overhang of this (50%) additional tariff. It was not practical to have official level discussions on the entire BTA (because of these high tariffs). We hope that we will get back to the table soon," the official said, adding whenever the deal is struck, the tariff issues need to be addressed.
Washington has sought reduced tariffs on products like corn, soybeans, apples, almonds and ethanol, as well as increased access for US dairy products. However, New Delhi has opposed these demands as it affects the livelihood of small and marginal farmers.
In April-July FY26, India's goods exports to the US rose 21.64% to $33.53 billion, while imports were up 12.33% to $17.41 billion.
Engagement key
Insisting that the Indian industry's key demand is that a deal should be in the best interest of the country, the official said "We are engaged. We feel that India and the US are complementary economies and both countries need to reach a deal, but a deal which is a win-win proposition, and which is in the national interest of both the countries."
India and the US are at the official level discussing bilateral ties in the areas of trade and investment, critical minerals, and energy security, including strengthening civil nuclear cooperation under the framework of 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue this week. "That means the engagement between the two countries is going on. On the trade front also, the engagement at commerce ministry level is going on. We are talking to each other," the official added.
Support measures
Officials said the government is working on extending support measures for exporters such as rollout of export promotion mission, moratorium on loans, diversification of exports, implementation of new free trade agreements (FTAs), and growing domestic market to shield them from the impact of the 50 % US tariff. Export promotion incentives cannot be very high but for the sectors getting hit, there's virtually a trade embargo in place. "You can't export with 50% tariffs. The incentives cannot fix that," they said.
"The government is trying to speed up the rollout of the export promotion mission and expediting the e-commerce export hub scheme," the official said. The support is crucial as labour-intensive sectors such as machinery, shrimp, textiles, leather and footwear, gems and jewellery would be the most impacted by the tariffs. Support measures worth about ₹25,000 crore for exporters under this mission, announced in Budget FY26, for 2025-2031 are to be implemented. Exporters have sought help at the liquidity front, and these suggestions are under consideration, the official said.
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