‘India maintaining ⁠protection around agricultural goods’: US on trade deal with Delhi, says tariffs to drop to zero from 13.5%

US trade representative Jamieson Greer on Tuesday said that the Trump administration is working to formally finalise the trade agreement announced with India, further noting that New Delhi “is maintaining ⁠protection around agricultural goods.““We’ll finish papering it, but we know the specifics, we know the details,” Greer said in an interview with CNBC. He further said that India ⁠is maintaining ⁠some protection around agricultural goods as the broader agreement moves ahead.

At the same time, Greer indicated that the deal would significantly open up India’s industrial sector, with tariffs on industrial goods set to fall sharply.“India’s industrial goods tariffs will go to zero from 13.5%,” he added.Greer also said the US administration has been closely tracking India’s energy trade patterns. “Have been monitoring Indians winding down purchase of Russian oil,” he said, adding that there are “a lot of opportunities for India to diversify supply and buy more US product.”Greer further said Washington would continue to push for greater access to parts of India’s protected agriculture sector. However, he noted that India’s tariffs on several products, including tree nuts, wine, spirits, fruits and vegetables which would be reduced to zero.“For a variety of things, you know, tree nuts, wine, spirits, fruits, vegetables, etc, they’re going down to zero,” he said.Greer said the deal would include “a process for recognizing US standards,” though India would still need to follow its own political and regulatory procedures before accepting them.On energy resources, Greer said India had not imported Russian oil prior to 2022 and 2023 and has been working since late last year to scale down such imports. He said India was “making the right choice” by diversifying its energy purchases, including sourcing more oil from the US and Venezuela.However, he did not specify when the tariff reductions would come into effect.His remarks came a day after India and the United States announced the trade agreement. On February 2, US President Donald Trump said Washington would cut reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18% following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, effectively sealing the deal.Earlier in the day, Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India has ensured that the interests of its sensitive agriculture and dairy sectors remain fully protected under the pact, which is being finalised after months of negotiations.Addressing a press briefing after Trump announced a tariff cut, Goyal said “The agreement will protect the sensitive sectors, the interests of our agriculture and our dairy sectors in full respect.”He further said the pact would benefit labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, plastics, apparel, home décor, leather and footwear, gems and jewellery, organic chemicals, rubber goods, machinery and aircraft. Goyal also highlighted rising domestic demand for ICT products, data centre equipment, advanced technologies and raw materials, saying the deal would help India access “best-in-class, world-class technologies” to further drive economic growth.Calling it a “very good” agreement, Goyal said Indian exporters are better placed than competitors, with Indian goods now facing an 18% duty compared to higher tariffs on rival economies. Key competitors include Vietnam and Bangladesh (20% each), Malaysia (19%), and Cambodia and Thailand (19% each), while China continues to face significantly higher trade barriers.