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Indo-US trade deal may cover e-commerce and data
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US vice-president J.D. Vance had finalized the terms of reference for the bilateral deal earlier this week.
A bilateral trade deal between the US and India may cover 19 categories, including more access for farm goods, e-commerce, data storage and critical minerals, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US vice-president J.D. Vance had finalized the terms of reference for the bilateral deal earlier this week.
The deal includes trade in goods as well as services, with the other so-called “chapters” covered in the trade deal being corruption and rules of origin, the Bloomberg report added.
The first tranche of the deal — announced after Vance’s meeting with Modi in New Delhi on 21 April — lays out the outline for a trade deal that India is chasing to get a reprieve from higher US import taxes, that may come into effect from 9 July.
US President Donald Trump had levied a “discounted” 26% reciprocal tariff on India.
Both countries haven’t disclosed any details of the terms of agreement reached so far
Modi and Trump had in February agreed during the former’s visit to the White House to seal the first phase of the deal by fall.
The US has sought more access for its farm goods, which is likely to be met with opposition by Indian farmers.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent this week said the two countries are very close to an agreement, with India likely to be among the first to strike an early deal with the US.
India is likely to be the first such country to strike a deal with the US to avoid Trump’s reciprocal tariffs because the world’s most populous nation doesn’t have “so many high tariffs,” Bessent told a roundtable of about a dozen journalists, along with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the sidelines of the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, DC.
In a fact sheet released by the White House following Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs, India was named among the countries that “have taken advantage of the United States by imposing higher tariffs on American goods”.
During his first term as the president, Trump had a friendly attitude towards India. However, since his presidential win last November, he had repeatedly accused New Delhi of imposing high tariffs on Washington.
The fact sheet further noted that while the US charges a 2.5% tariff on imports of passenger vehicles with internal combustion engines, India imposes a duty of 70% on the same category.
It also noted that the US imposes no tariff on networking switches and routers, whereas India applies duties ranging from 10% to 20%.
On Tuesday, Vance appealed to India to drop non-tariff barriers, give greater access to its markets, and buy more American energy and military hardware.
Vance hoped both countries would have a “prosperous and peaceful” 21st century.
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