‘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.”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 agreement.
