Indian officials have reportedly offered a dramatic reduction in tariffs across the board in exchange for relief from President Donald Trump’s tariffs in order to complete a bilateral trade agreement.
Indian sources told Reuters the proposal would reduce the average tariff differential between Indian and U.S. exports from 13 percent to four percent. As of 2023, the World Trade Organization (WTO) calculated India’s average tariff as 17 percent, while the average U.S. tariff was only 3.3 percent.
India plans to achieve this by reducing duties on U.S. imports to zero on some goods and giving “preferential access” to almost 90 percent of imports from the United States. Aircraft, cars, telecommunications equipment, medical equipment, wines, and animal feed would be among the American products that would enjoy looser import restrictions under the deal.
India, in turn, wants preferential access for its most important exports to America, including jewelry, apparel, textiles, chemicals, and produce. New Delhi also desires more access to advanced U.S. technology, especially computer chips, artificial intelligence (A.I.), and pharmaceuticals.