India is examining the legal impact of the United States’ fresh investigations into excess industrial capacity among trading partners, Trade secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Monday.
He said the India-US trade deal will be signed once Washington re-establishes global tariff rates after a court ruling struck them down.
"Actual signing of India-US trade deal will be done when the new architecture of tariffs is in place. We are talking right now on details with the US," Agrawal said according to PTI.
The comments assume significance at a time when the US Supreme Court has struck down the tariffs that were imposed by the Trump administration, calling them illegal.
This puts focus on the various trade deals that the Trump administration has finalised. Soon after the court verdict, a flat 10 per cent tariff was imposed by the US government on its trading partners, which may be raised to 15 per cent in the coming days.
In early February, India and the US announced a trade deal framework under which the US cut tariffs on Indian exports to 18%. The Trump administration also removed the 25% levy with regards to Russian oil purchases contingent on India stopping procurement from Russia. However, India has not stopped buying Russian crude yet, and has in fact stepped up purchases after the Middle East conflict choked supplies from the Strait of Hormuz.
