Key facts
- India wants tariff edge over rivals, especially China, before enacting US deal
- India seeking assurance its exports get better US access than competitor nations
- Negotiations involve US demands on agriculture, digital trade and import duties
- Move is strategically timed amid US-China trade tensions
India is pushing Washington to guarantee it a tariff advantage over competitor nations — including China — as a precondition for finalising and enacting a bilateral trade agreement with the United States, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The approach signals New Delhi's determination not to sign a deal that merely levels the playing field, but one that actively improves Indian exporters' position relative to rivals.
The demand is strategically timed. With the US having imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods and engaged in a broader realignment of global supply chains, India sees a window to lock in a structural advantage. Indian officials are said to be seeking assurances that the tariff reductions offered to India will leave its exports — ranging from textiles and pharmaceuticals to electronics and engineering goods — more competitively priced in the US market than those from competing Asian economies.
The stance introduces a complicating factor into negotiations that both sides have publicly said they want to conclude quickly. The US has its own list of demands, including greater market access for American agricultural products, digital trade rules and reductions in India's high import duties. Bridging these gaps while also meeting India's tariff-edge requirement will require significant political will on both sides.
The development follows Piyush Goyal's announcement earlier in the day that India is close to wrapping up its trade deal with the European Union, suggesting New Delhi is pursuing a multi-front trade strategy and using progress with one partner as leverage with another.