India-US trade deal talks are likely to move forward after the May 8 hearing scheduled for Section 301 investigations, sources told NDTV Profit. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) is set to hold India's public hearing regarding Section 301 investigations into 16 economies on structural excess capacity and production in certain manufacturing sectors. India has already submitted its response in probe on forced labour, as per sources.
India was a part of 16 countries probed by the US on excess capacity. The Indian team was in the US for trade talks between April 20-22, 2026. Meanwhile, Commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said earlier this year that the interim trade agreement between India and the US will be signed once the new global tariff architecture of America is in place.
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"International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs don't exist per se due to US Supreme Court rulings now. Under Article 122, tariffs of 10 per cent exist globally now. Any deal that India signs will be signed against a tariff structure, said Agrawal on March 16, 2026. Read More Here: India-US Trade Deal To Be Signed After Tariff Architecture Is In Place
That statement came after the commerce ministry dispelled reports stating that discussions on bilateral trade agreement between India and United States are on hold, and said both sides engaged in discussions for a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement. The US is working to recreate a global tariff architecture. "Once US creates that, it will be better to sign then. Actual signing will be done when new architecture of tariffs globally is done by US." he added.
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India and the US had announced the finalisation of a framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement in February. According to that framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18%. However, the tariff architecture in the US has changed following its Supreme Court ruling against President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
After that, US President imposed 10% tariffs on all countries for 150 days from Feb. 24. In view of those changes, the meeting of the chief negotiators of India and the US was postponed then. They were scheduled to meet in February to finalise the legal text of the pact, which was expected to be signed in March 2026. After the SC's ruling that invalidated most of the reciprocal tariffs, the Trump administration in early-March initiated a formal probe into India and other major trade partners for alleged unfair practices.
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