India seeks tariff solution in US trade talks: Commerce Secretary

India is looking for a "win-win solution" in its trade talks with the US that would also address the "tariff issue", with New Delhi keen to make additional energy purchases of $12-13 billion from Washington, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said Wednesday.

India is open to expand oil purchases from the US, provided it comes at the "right price", he said.

"In the past, energy purchases by India from the US have been at about $23-24 billion, and there is currently headroom to purchase energy worth another $12-13 billion from the US, given the present trend, without worrying about the commitments of domestic refiners," he said.


India's exports to the US rose to $45.82 billion in the first half of the current fiscal, 13.3% more than $40.42 billion in the same period last year.

Noting that there is a bilateral commitment, he said: "In discussions we are in, we have indicated very positively that India as a country would like to diversify its portfolio as far as energy imports are concerned. That's the best strategy for a big buyer like India", he said.

"As a country, we will be very happy to buy more energy from the US, subject to... availability at the right price," Agrawal said. The Indian negotiating team is already in Washington for trade talks and the secretary will join them Thursday. "Our negotiating team is already in the US, and (they are) trying to see if we can have a win-win solution between the two sides, which can address some of these tariff issues," he said.

Engagement between India and the US continues and there continues to be hope of a positive outcome, the secretary said.

When asked if this is a formal round of negotiations, the secretary said the US is in shutdown, and because of that, their manpower strength is down as they are not working. "So, that's not the right time to have a full-fledged negotiation. Having said that, there is a movement on both sides where we are trying to see if there is a pathway to address the current trade challenges. Both sides are discussing to see if there are any answers," he added.

The two sides are negotiating a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) and aim to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall (October-November) of 2025. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been completed.

Last month, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal led an official delegation to the US for trade talks where he said that India expects to expand energy trade with the US as part of its long-term energy security goals and the country's energy security goals will "have a very high level of US involvement.

Between April and September, India's crude imports from the US rose 6.8%, reaching about 213,000 barrels per day. In total, India imported 4.88 million barrels per day in September, 1% lower than August, but 3.5% higher than the same month in 2024.