Despite a US bill threatening tariffs on Russian energy buyers, India and the United States reaffirm their commitment to ongoing trade negotiations amid progress on broader bilateral agreements.
India and the United States remain committed to their trade talks despite a proposed US bill that could impose tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said in New Delhi on Thursday. Agrawal brushed off the legislation as Washington’s internal process, saying both sides were still in regular contact and focused on moving the deal forward.
The warning comes as the US Senate has already passed a sanctions package aimed at Russia, while the House of Representatives has yet to take it up. A revised version of the bill would target the five largest purchasers of Russian energy, with India among the countries named in reports on the measure.
Even so, the wider trade track between New Delhi and Washington has continued. In February, the two governments announced a framework for an interim agreement and said they were committed to a broader bilateral trade pact. A White House statement said India would reduce or eliminate tariffs on a wide range of American industrial, food and farm goods, while the US would apply an 18% reciprocal tariff on selected Indian exports. KPMG later said the US removed a separate 25% tariff on imports from India from February 7, after India pledged to stop buying Russian oil and deepen defence cooperation.
Talks have also advanced at the ministerial level. During Jamieson Greer’s visit to New Delhi in June, he and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal discussed market access, digital trade, supply chain resilience and lower non-tariff barriers. According to the two governments, their negotiating teams had made significant progress and were working towards an agreement that could benefit businesses, farmers, workers and consumers in both countries.
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