U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Monday posted on social media that the Indian trade delegation would arrive in Washington this week, calling it "a great step to finalise our bilateral trade deal" and "a win-win for both nations."

Modi-Trump call signals strong bilateral ties

The visit builds on sustained high-level engagement between New Delhi and Washington. Last Tuesday, PM Modi and President Trump held a nearly 40-minute phone call, during which the two leaders reviewed substantial progress on bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors and reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Ambassador Gor noted after the call that several major deals — particularly in the energy sector — are expected to be announced in the coming days and weeks.

What's on the table

The trade framework under discussion is ambitious. Key provisions include reducing tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18% and a commitment from India to invest $500 billion in U.S. sectors over five years, with a focus on energy, aviation, metals, and technology. A new India-USA Trade Facilitation Portal has also been launched to enable direct engagement between Indian exporters and U.S. importers.

The tariff refund backdrop

The delegation's arrival coincides with a landmark shift in the broader U.S. trade landscape. Effective today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched a new claims system allowing over 330,000 importers to seek repayment of tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, following a series of court rulings that invalidated the policy. In February, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Trump had exceeded his authority under IEEPA when he used emergency powers to impose broad peacetime tariffs. Total refunds could reach up to $166 billion — one of the largest repayments to importers in U.S. history.

Despite the Supreme Court setback, the Trump administration is exploring alternative legal pathways to reimpose trade restrictions, including the use of Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act, with probes already initiated into 16 major trading partners including India and China.