Tariff Row: No Commitment To US So Far, Our Situation Differs From China, Commerce Ministry Tells House Panel

Amid the looming threat of reciprocal tariffs, officials from India's Commerce Ministry on Monday clarified that there have been no commitments made to the United States so far, according to sources.

India and the US will be involved in talks till September 2025 to iron out the details related to their bilateral trade, the officials said in a meeting called by the of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, said the persons privy to the development.

The officials, who represented the Commerce Ministry at the meeting, said India's trade situation is not comparable with that of Mexico, Canada, or China — the three countries that were the first targets of US President Donald Trump's tariff actions.

During the meeting of the parliamentary panel, officials added that the US has not yet made a formal announcement regarding tariffs on India, and talks are still on with the US with regards to concessions as part of a bilateral trade agreement that was agreed upon by the two nations' leaders last month.

Notably, the House panel on external affairs is chaired by Congress's Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor. During the meeting, leaders from different political parties are learnt to have raised queries over the reciprocal tariffs announced by the US.

Trump has indicated at levying the reciprocal tariffs on various countries, including India, from April. However, there has been no official announcement so far.

The leaders who attended the parliamentary panel's meeting sought to understand the potential effects of the tariffs on Indian industries, and India’s potential response to the US in such a scenario.

The committee also gathered information on whether there have been any discussions between India and the US regarding this issue.

Trump on Friday had said that India signaled its readiness to make deeper tariff cuts, after he ramped up pressure on the country to lower trade barriers that he has said unfairly penalize American businesses.

“They’ve agreed — by the way, they want to cut their tariffs way down now,” Trump said, while delivering remarks on the US economy late on Friday. India charges “massive tariffs” that mean the US does “very little business inside,” he had said.

A potential bilateral trade agreement between India and the US made its way to the joint statement issued following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Trump in February. As part of the BTA, the two nations have agreed to boost trade to $500 billion by 2030.