No unilateral tariff cuts for US: DGFT chief Santosh Kumar Sarangi shuts down speculation

India has not made any unilateral tariff reduction offers to the US in the current stage of ongoing bilateral trade agreement negotiations, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Director General of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce, said.

In an interaction at the launch event of the annual MSME survey report by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) in New Delhi on March 27, Sarangi dismissed reports claiming that India had offered significant tariff reductions on US imports.

“As we speak, there are teams on both sides (India and the US) discussing the contours of the bilateral agreement. Both leaders (Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump) have agreed to conclude it by the end of fall, which is September-October 2025. So for an agreement set to be finalized by September, tariff reduction offers are not going to be made at this point in time,” he explained.

Sarangi was responding to a question on the potential impact of additional US tariffs on Indian MSME exporters, as Trump has set April 2 as the date for the next tariff hike announcement on several products, including pharmaceuticals imported into the US.

According to Sarangi, since India and the US have already initiated dialogue, Indian negotiators are discussing with their US counterparts the possibility of deferring the tariff increase proposed by Trump.

“You have heard President Trump say that for some countries, he will consider a deferment. But given recent developments, nobody knows what will happen on April 2. So I can’t say whether he will defer it, impose it and then negotiate—it’s anybody’s guess,” Sarangi said.

The DGFT pointed out that a trade deal with the US would not be very difficult due to the complementary nature of bilateral trade with India.

“There are areas in which we can provide market access and tariff reductions without compromising our industry or farm sector. In that perspective, working out a bilateral trade agreement with the US should be easier compared to negotiations with some other countries,” he explained.