India–US ‘Mini’ Trade Deal Likely Today; Farm, Dairy Products Off Table

The wait for the India-US trade deal might be over as both sides are expected to announce a "mini" pact by today, as per reports. The two countries will announce today that they have agreed to the deal, while the details regarding the same may be released later, according to CNBC Awaaz.

The news channel stated the deal is likely to be announced by 10 pm on July 8. It added that the 10% baseline tariffs earlier announced by US President Donald Trump will remain even after the trade deal, but labour-intensive sectors including textiles, garments and leather products, may see reduced tariff rates as part of the deal.

Agro and farm products — long a sticking point in trade talks between India and the US — are expected to be kept out of the scope of the upcoming mini trade deal, according to the CNBC-Awaaz report.

Instead, the deal is likely to focus on reducing duties on select US industrial goods, potentially bringing tariffs down to zero in some categories. The agreement may also pave the way for tougher measures against Chinese imports, signalling a broader strategic alignment between Washington and New Delhi amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Earlier, PTI reported citing sources that India set its red lines on key issues in sectors such as agriculture and dairy for the proposed interim trade agreement with the US. They said if issues are settled, an interim trade pact could be announced before July 9, which marks the end of the 90-day suspension period of the Trump tariffs announced on April 2 on its trading partners. It has imposed 26% levy on India

"India has drawn its red lines... now the ball is in the US court," sources told the news agency.

"If the proposed trade talks fail, the 26% tariffs will come into force again," one of the sources added.

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stated last Friday that India will not rush for any deals at the cost of national interest. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also echoed the same sentiment recently during an interview with The Indian Express.