US assures India lower tariffs than peers in trade deal

The US has assured India of lower tariffs than those of its peers under the trade deal the two sides are negotiating, an official familiar with the matter said.

The first tranche of the trade deal, in the works for almost two years, will cover only goods, while services will be taken up in the next tranche of talks, the official told reporters, declining to be identified because the discussions are not public.

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The two countries finalized a deal framework earlier this year but have yet to formalize it, with a series of US trade probes complicating the talks. Tensions have also risen over new US measure allowing President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of as much as 100% on major buyers of Russian oil, though the levies have been waived for now.

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In recent weeks, officials from both New Delhi and Washington have expressed optimism that the deal is very close to finalization with most of the issues resolved. Separately, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said a US team visited India in early November for trade talks.

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said last month that most major issues had been resolved, while Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Thursday that India had negotiated a “very good deal” and would have “one of the best deals with the US.”