India and the United States have decided to defer the proposed meeting of their chief negotiators for finalising the interim bilateral trade agreement, sources in the Commerce Ministry confirmed on Sunday.
The talks, which were scheduled to begin in Washington from February 23, will now take place at a later date to be decided mutually by both sides.
According to a report, the postponement follows a joint assessment by New Delhi and Washington that more time is needed to evaluate recent policy developments and their broader implications before moving forward with negotiations.
India’s negotiating team, led by Commerce Ministry Joint Secretary Darpan Jain, was slated to hold a three-day round of discussions in the US to finalise the legal text of the first phase of the trade pact.
The delay comes at a sensitive moment in India–US trade relations, following major policy shifts in Washington.
The development has gained significance after a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court, which struck down the sweeping global tariffs imposed earlier by US President Donald Trump, holding that the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 to impose such levies exceeded presidential authority.
Despite the ruling, Trump recently announced fresh tariff measures, first imposing a 10 per cent levy on all countries, including India, for a 150-day period from February 24, before revising it upward to 15 per cent.
If formally notified, the new tariff would be imposed over and above existing MFN (Most Favoured Nation) duties, significantly raising the effective import burden on Indian goods entering the US market.
India has already faced heavy trade penalties in recent years.
In August 2025, Washington imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, followed by an additional 25 per cent duty linked to India’s purchase of Russian crude oil, taking the total tariff burden to 50 per cent.
Under the interim trade framework agreed upon earlier this month, the US had committed to reducing these tariffs to 18 per cent.
While the initial 25 per cent reciprocal duty has since been removed, the additional 25 per cent remains in place.
The interim trade framework, once converted into a legal document, is expected to form the first phase of a broader bilateral trade agreement.
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Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had earlier indicated that the deal could be signed in March and implemented by April, subject to completion of negotiations.
The India–US trade relationship remains one of New Delhi’s most significant economic partnerships. Between 2021 and 2025, the US was India’s largest trading partner in goods.
The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India’s total exports, 6.22 per cent of imports, and over 10 per cent of overall bilateral trade.
In 2024–25 alone, bilateral trade stood at USD 186 billion, including USD 86.5 billion in exports and USD 45.3 billion in imports.
With tariff policies in flux and legal uncertainties in the US, officials indicated that both sides are now seeking greater clarity before resuming negotiations, underlining the complexity of finalising the interim trade deal in the current global economic climate.
