‘More negotiations needed…’: Trump administration official shares update on India-US trade deal; no agreement before August 1 deadline?

India-US trade deal: In an indication that a trade deal between India and the US was less likely ahead of Donald Trump’s August 1 tariff deadline, an American top official has said that more negotiations are required.

According to a Bloomberg report, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said that "more negotiations" are required between the two countries even as talks continue. Greer’s statement comes days ahead of US President Donald Trump’s August 1 tariff deadline, post which countries face higher tariffs.


Since India did not receive any tariff letter from Trump, it is yet unclear whether the 26% tariff rate announced for India on April 2 will kick in from August 1 or not.

Trump has additionally warned of implementing "secondary tariffs" on countries such as India and China for their Russian oil purchases.

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Although India was one of the initial countries to initiate trade discussions with the White House this year, it has hardened its stance especially on agriculture and dairy sectors.

In a CNBC interview on Monday, Greer spoke of the need for further discussions to seal a trade deal.

Despite his earlier hints at an imminent agreement with New Delhi, he emphasised that India's traditional stance of market protection meant that any reduction in trade barriers would signify a significant policy shift.

India-US Trade Deal: Talks Continue

"We continue to speak with our Indian counterparts, we've always had very constructive discussions with them," Greer said.

"They have expressed strong interest in opening portions of their market, we of course are willing to continue talking to them," Greer said. "But I think we need some more negotiations on that with our Indian friends to see how ambitious they want to be,” he said according to the Bloomberg report.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently expressed optimism about reaching an agreement to prevent the proposed 26% tariffs. Goyal maintained that the US-India relationship was free from contentious issues, noting that discussions had not included immigration policies, including H-1B visa regulations for skilled workers.

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Goyal has said that trade deal talks are progressing at a ‘fast pace’ even as he stressed that for any trade agreement India would keep its national interest in mind. He also said that trade deals cannot be worked out on the basis of deadlines.

India has shown readiness to eliminate tariffs on specific products including auto parts and pharmaceutical items during trade discussions. However, the country maintains firm restrictions on agricultural and dairy sectors, which it considers non-negotiable in the final agreement.

"The thing to understand with India is their trade policy for a very long time has been premised on strongly protecting their domestic market. That's just how they do business" Greer said.

"And the president is in a mode of wanting deals that substantially open other markets, that they open everything or near everything."

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