India did not agree to dismantle all of its tariff barriers under the recently announced India-US interim trade framework, underscoring New Delhi’s calibrated approach to negotiations even as both sides attempt to stabilise a strained economic relationship, according to former US Assistant Secretary of Commerce Raymond Vickery.
Speaking about the India–US Interim Trade Agreement to news agency ANI, Vickery said the framework contains elements that could help address disruptions that have weighed on bilateral ties over the past year.
“There are elements here which, going forward, can help to bridge some of the discontinuities, which have been very harmful to the US-India relationship over the past year...It's good that something has been put forward in a joint statement...India has not agreed to reduce all of its tariff barriers to zero, which was represented,” he said.
He added that while tariffs have come down from their peak levels during the recent trade tensions, significant gaps remain.
“It's great that India and the US seem to be working around this problem, which was created in the first place by President Trump...Now the tariffs are down to 18%. Well, that's still seven, eight times what they were before this started...There is a long way to go. India is doing a great job of not succumbing to the tweets or the social media pronouncements and taking a rational and logical approach to this so that this extremely important relationship between the U.S. and India can resume,” he added.
The United States and India earlier announced that they had reached a framework for an Interim Agreement on reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. The framework reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to the broader US–India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations launched by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, which are expected to include additional market access commitments and measures to support more resilient supply chains.
According to the joint statement, the Interim Agreement represents a historic milestone in the partnership between the two countries and demonstrates a shared commitment to reciprocal and balanced trade based on mutual interests and concrete outcomes.
India and the United States moved a step closer to a broader economic pact on early Saturday, unveiling an interim trade framework aimed at lowering tariffs, strengthening energy and technology ties, and deepening overall economic cooperation. The joint statement confirmed that while the framework establishes a clear pathway, further negotiations will be required to finalise a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement.
A central feature of the announcement is Washington’s decision to reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from earlier levels of up to 50%, a move linked to shifting trade dynamics and energy sourcing. At the same time, the framework outlines reciprocal steps by New Delhi, including plans to purchase $500 billion worth of U.S. goods over five years--spanning oil and gas, aircraft and parts, coking coal, precious metals, and advanced technology products such as graphics processing units used in data centres.
India has also committed to reducing or eliminating tariffs on a broad set of U.S. industrial and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains, red sorghum, tree nuts, fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits.
In return, the United States will retain an 18% reciprocal tariff on many Indian exports, covering textiles, apparel, leather goods, plastics, organic chemicals, home décor and certain machinery, while offering tariff relief in select sectors such as aircraft parts and negotiated outcomes for generic pharmaceuticals.
Beyond tariffs, both countries agreed to address long-standing non-tariff barriers affecting agricultural goods, medical devices and communications equipment, and to work toward mutual recognition of safety and licensing standards within six months.
The framework also emphasises cooperation on export controls, supply-chain resilience and responses to “non-market policies of third parties,” widely seen as a reference to China’s economic practices.