Trade deal with US only after clarity on global tariff rate: India

India has said it will finalise a bilateral trade deal with the United States only after there is clarity on global tariff rates following a recent court ruling in the US that struck Trump's previous tariff down.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi yesterday (16 March), Indian Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the agreement had earlier been expected to be signed this month.

"The deal was to be signed in March. When we said this, at that time the Supreme Court judgment on International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs had not come. Now, with the judgment, the tariffs per se do not exist," he said.

He added that countries consider comparative advantages when negotiating trade deals.

"Each country is doing a deal as part of a package where one is at comparative advantage vis-à-vis competitors," he said.

India and the United States last month announced the finalisation of a framework for the first phase of their bilateral trade agreement.

Under the proposed framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18%.

However, the tariff structure in the US has since changed following a Supreme Court ruling against sweeping tariffs imposed earlier.

After the ruling, President Donald Trump introduced a 10% tariff on all countries for 150 days from 24 February, according to PTI.

Amid these developments, a meeting between the chief negotiators of the two countries has been postponed.

Agrawal said India is continuing discussions with Washington on the details of the proposed trade agreement.