New Delhi: Days after India and the United States unveiled a framework for an interim agreement on reciprocal trade, the White House on Monday released a detailed fact sheet indicating that New Delhi will eliminate or reduce tariffs on American industrial goods and a broad range of food and agricultural products, including “certain pulses”.
The reference to “certain pulses” is significant, as it did not feature in the joint statement issued on February 6, when the two sides announced the framework following a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, certain pulses, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products,” the White House said in the fact sheet titled Fact Sheet: The United States and India Announce Historic Trade Deal, released on February 9.
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In contrast, the February 6 joint statement made no mention of pulses. It said, “India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.”
According to the White House fact sheet, the interim framework also includes significant tariff and non-tariff commitments by both sides. “India committed to buy more American products and purchase over $500 billion of US energy, information and communication technology, agricultural, coal, and other products,” it said.
The document added that India would “address non-tariff barriers that affect bilateral trade in priority areas” and that both countries would negotiate rules of origin “that ensure that the agreed benefits accrue predominately to the United States and India”.
On digital trade, the fact sheet said India “will remove its digital services taxes and committed to negotiate a robust set of bilateral digital trade rules that address discriminatory or burdensome practices and other barriers to digital trade, including rules that prohibit the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions”.
The White House also said President Trump agreed to remove an additional 25% tariff on imports from India after New Delhi committed to stop purchasing oil from the Russian Federation. “Accordingly, the President signed an Executive Order last Friday removing that additional 25% tariff,” the fact sheet said, adding that the US would lower its reciprocal tariff on India from 25% to 18%.
