No commitments made: India on Donald Trump's tariff cut claim

India has made no trade tariff commitments to the US, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told a Parliamentary panel, rejecting President Trump's claim that New Delhi agreed to significantly slash import duties on American products.

In Short

• Government says negotiations on with no finalised trade agreement
• Commerce Secretary explains Parliament panel India's trade priorities
• Says India will only sign mutually beneficial trade agreements with US

India has made no commitments on trade tariff reductions to the United States, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal informed a Parliamentary panel on Monday. Barthwal's statement came in response to US President Donald Trump’s recent assertion that India has agreed to bring its tariffs "way down".

Briefing the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, the Commerce Secretary clarified that negotiations between India and the US were still ongoing and that no trade agreement had been finalised.

With several members of the Parliament panel raising concerns over Donald Trump's recent claim of India having agreed to reduce tariffs, Barthwal said, "One cannot go by the US President's claims and on media reports as the bilateral trade agreement talks between the two nations are still on. India has not committed to anything on trade tariffs to the US".

Furthermore, the bureaucrat also asserted the interests of India would be taken care of during the trade negotiations.

"India was in favour of free trade and wanted liberalisation of trade, which will help increase trade between the two countries," news agency PTI sources quoted Barthwal as saying.

He asserted that while India supports trade expansion, a tariff war does not serve anyone's interest and could "even trigger a recession".

"India will not indiscriminately lower tariffs, especially in sectors crucial to its domestic economy. India prefers to negotiate tariff reductions bilaterally rather than multilaterally to ensure national interests are upheld," Barthwal told the committee.

Addressing comparisons with Canada and Mexico, which have actively challenged US tariff policies, Barthwal noted that their situations were different due to security and border immigration concerns with the US. He reaffirmed that India will only sign a trade agreement that is "mutually beneficial".

WHAT TRUMP SAID?

Just weeks into his second term, Trump has shaken global trade, imposing tariffs on allies and adversaries alike. Accusing all trading partners of 'unfair' practices, he has announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs set to take effect next month including on India.

Last week, Trump renewed his criticism of India's "massive tariffs", calling New Delhi's trade policies restrictive.

"You can't sell anything into India, it is almost restrictive. They have agreed, by the way, they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done," Trump had said.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that India has sought time until September 2025 to resolve the issue repeatedly raised by the American President.