India-US interim trade deal to be operational in April – New Delhi

A three-day meeting to finalize the legal text will begin in Washington next week, Commerce Minister Piyush Goel has said

An interim trade deal between India and the US will be operational in April, New Delhi’s commerce minister has said.

Officials from both countries will begin a three-day meet in the US on February 23 to finalize the legal text for the interim trade agreement, the PTI news agency quoted Piyush Goel as saying.

India and the US announced a trade deal earlier this month, after months of negotiations following a steep 50% tariff imposed by Washington on the South Asian nation in August 2025.

New Delhi also signed trade pacts with the European Union this year, and with the UK, Oman, and New Zealand last year.

Goel said the trade deals with the UK and Oman are also likely to be implemented in April. The New Zealand pact is expected to be operational in September, he added.

The US and India also issued a joint statement on February 6 detailing the trade agreement.

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The White House later revised a fact sheet on the trade deal, after New Delhi reportedly flagged wordings and references that were not agreed upon.

The revisions related to wordings on pulses, reported pledges to buy American goods, and tweaks in digital tax references.

The US-India trade deal reduced India’s tariff burden to 18% from the earlier 50%, which was the highest for any country in Asia.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order eliminating the 25% tariff imposed on India in August for importing Russian oil.

Trump has claimed that the tariffs were reduced after India “agreed to stop buying Russian oil.” New Delhi has not acknowledged any such commitment. Moscow has said it has no reason to believe India has revised its approach on the issue.