India and the US will hold trade talks on Tuesday raising hopes for a potential breakthrough just weeks after President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods over New Delhi’s Russian oil purchase.
The nations will finally sit on the negotiating table after the much-deferred arrival of the US delegation in India. The move follows a shift in tone from Trump, who last week struck a more conciliatory note and said he was hopeful both sides could finalise a deal soon. His nominee for ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, echoed the optimism, remarking that the two countries were “not that far apart” on tariffs and could settle differences within weeks.
US Trade Representative for South Asia Brendan Lynch will lead the American side during the negotiations, while senior Commerce Ministry official Rajesh Agarwal will represent India, reported news agency Reuters.
Trump last month announced a 25 percent punitive levy on Indian exports effective August 27, effectively doubling overall tariffs to 50 percent. The move was part of Washington’s broader pressure campaign against Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
According to the trade ministry data released on Monday, India’s exports to the US dropped to $6.86 billion in August, down from $8.01 billion in July. Overall goods exports also fell sharply, reaching a nine-month low of $35.10 billion in August compared with $37.24 billion in July.
Trump’s Trade Adviser Says India Coming To The Table
Ahead of US team’s arrival in Delhi for trade talks, Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro on Monday said that India was “coming to the negotiating table”.
“India is coming to the table. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi sent out a very conciliatory, nice, constructive tweet, and President (Donald) Trump responded to that. We’ll see how this works,” he told CNBC.
Last week, the US President said that India and the US are “continuing negotiations to address the trade barriers”.
“I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both our countries,” he posted on Truth Social.
Thereafter, PM Modi also took to X, to reaffirm India-US friendship and said that he was “confident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership”.
While the trade deficit narrowed slightly to $26.49 billion, exporters warn the full hit from Washington’s higher tariffs will only be felt in the coming month. Since the new levies only took effect on August 27, September’s export numbers are expected to capture the real impact.
India’s strained ties with the US coincided with increased contacts with Beijing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to China last month for the first time in seven years, attending a summit hosted by President Xi Jinping. He also made headlines by publicly holding hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Talks between Washington and New Delhi were initially scheduled for from August 25-29 but were called off after disagreements, particularly India’s firm resistance to opening up its agricultural and dairy sectors.
