India, US to issue joint statement on trade deal in next 4-5 days, signing in March

PTC News Desk: Details of the India-US trade deal have not been fully shared yet, but both countries are expected to release a joint statement in the next 4-5 days explaining the agreement. This statement is likely to clear the confusion that began after US President Donald Trump announced on his own that a trade deal with India had been finalised and tariffs were reduced from 50% to 18%. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not mention any such deal in his post, which led to doubts and criticism from the opposition.

Revealing the timeline, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the first tranche of the trade agreement would be signed around mid-March. "After the joint statement, the US will issue an executive order to reduce the tariffs on India to 18%," Goyal said.

India has always kept agriculture and dairy sectors out of its trade agreements with countries like New Zealand, the UK and the European Union, and it has reportedly followed the same approach in its proposed deal with the US.

When Trump announced the trade deal on Monday on Truth Social, many details were unclear. PM Modi’s brief statement, which only mentioned the reduction in tariffs, further added to the confusion. Trump also claimed that India had agreed to buy oil from the US instead of Russia, but India has not confirmed this publicly.

Trump further said that PM Modi agreed to remove tariffs on US goods and that India would buy $500 billion worth of American products. India has not responded to these claims either. The Prime Minister only stated that “Made in India” products would now face a reduced tariff of 18%. The difference between the statements made by the US and India has created uncertainty, which is expected to be clarified when both countries release their joint statement next week.