India and the US are nearing a mini trade deal with politically and economically sensitive sectors of dairy and agriculture likely to be excluded from the pact, officials said.“The deal is in its conclusion phase,” said an official. “Most issues related to agri may be discussed later. As of now, they seem to be out of the ambit of this phase of the deal,” the official said, adding that the agreement could be announced in the next two days.
The interim deal would only cover trade in goods, a second official said. The official noted that the two sides could also look to finalise multiple agreements as and when the issues get resolved.
Both sides have been in intense negotiations to reach a deal before the US government’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends on July 9. India is seeking greater access to the American market for labour-intensive industries such as textiles and electronics. The US, meanwhile, wants to be able to sell genetically modified (GM) crops and cattle feed to India, a sensitive issue for New Delhi.
These segments are difficult and challenging areas for India as local farmers are mostly into sustenance farming and have small land holdings. Washington, however, is not willing to lower tariffs below the baseline 10%.
In April, US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs for most of America’s trading partners based on their trade surpluses with the US, which included a 26% levy on India. New Delhi wants the entire 26% tariff to be rolled back while the US is pushing for market access across sectors, including agriulture and dairy products, and insistence on exporting GM crops to India.
Last week, Trump said his administration would send letters to individual countries which do not reach a deal with the US by the July 9 deadline, specifying the tariffs they would have to pay for exporting to America. If the talks fall through or the July 9 deadline is not extended, the tariffs will come to the April 2 level of 26% in the case of India.
