India-US interim agreement to open $30 trillion market for Indian exporters, says Piyush Goyal
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India-US interim trade agreement will not include sensitive agricultural and dairy products, including maize, wheat, rice, soya, poultry, milk, cheese, ethanol(fuel), tobacco, certain vegetables, meat, etc, says Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
The agreement will open a $30 trillion market for Indian exporters, especially MSMEs, farmers and fishermen. The increase in exports will create lakhs of new job opportunities for our women and youth, he said in a social media post. The agreement shows the government’s commitment to safeguarding farmers’ interests and sustaining rural livelihoods, he added.
“As part of this framework, the US will slash reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18%, providing a huge market opportunity in key sectors such as textiles & apparel, leather & footwear, plastic & rubber products, organic chemicals, home décor, artisanal products, and select machinery in the world’s largest economy. Additionally, tariffs will go down to zero on a wide range of goods, including generic pharmaceuticals, gems & diamonds, and aircraft parts, thereby further enhancing India’s export competitiveness and Make in India. India will also get exemptions under section 232 on aircraft parts, tariff rate quota on auto parts and negotiated outcomes on generic pharmaceuticals, leading to tangible export gains in these sectors”, he said.
According to the minister, this agreement will help India and the US remain focused on working together to further deepen economic cooperation, reflecting shared commitment to sustainable growth for Indian people and businesses.
The US-India joint statement which announced a framework for an Interim Agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial bilateral trade was issued on February 7. The framework reaffirms the countries’ commitment to the broader U.S.-India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations, launched by President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2025, which will include additional market access commitments and support more resilient supply chains.
The joint statement said the US and India will promptly implement this framework and work towards finalizing the Interim Agreement with a view to concluding a mutually beneficial BTA consistent with the roadmap agreed in the Terms of Reference that calls for both countries to commit to provide each other preferential market access in sectors of respective interest on a sustained basis and establish rules of origin that ensure that the benefits of the Agreement accrue predominately to both countries.