Watch more
India and America Racing to Seal Trade Deal by End of March
London, 18th February 2026 – India is pushing hard to have the legal text of a major trade agreement with the United States finalised by the end of March. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal told NDTV that the government is working towards that deadline, though he stopped short of calling it set in stone.
The deal is meant to calm things down after a spell of serious trade tension between the two countries. It follows an earlier framework announced by US President Donald Trump and is seen as a necessary first step towards a full bilateral trade agreement.
What They Are Trying to Nail Down
Negotiators are currently focused on turning several big commitments into formal legal language. The main bits expected to be sorted in the coming weeks include the following.
First, there is tariff reciprocity. The United States has agreed to cut tariffs on Indian goods from 50 percent down to 18 percent. In return, India will sharply reduce or scrap tariffs on all American industrial goods and a wide range of food and agricultural products.
Second, there is a major shift on energy. India has committed to stop buying Russian crude oil. Instead, it is expected to purchase more than $500 billion worth of American energy products — including coal and coking coal — as well as technology and aircraft over the next five years.
Third, the deal will open Indian markets to American products like tree nuts, soybean oil, fresh and processed fruits, and spirits. Officials have made clear that while tariffs will drop, all imports will still need to meet India's strict biosecurity standards.
Fourth, both countries want to boost trade in high-end technology, specifically graphics processing units and infrastructure for data centres.
Fifth, India has agreed to address long-standing American complaints about barriers to medical devices and to simplify restrictive licensing procedures for information and communication technology goods.
How They Are Getting It Done
To meet the March target, India's chief negotiator, Darpan Jain, is due to lead a delegation to the United States next week. Their main job will be to refine the legal agreement based on the framework set out in the recent White House joint statement.
Commerce Secretary Agrawal said that while virtual talks are ongoing, the face-to-face meetings in Washington will be crucial for settling product-specific tariff cuts and quota allocations, particularly for agricultural goods like pulses and soybean oil.
The Politics Back Home
The deal has not been without criticism. Opposition leaders in India have complained about a lack of transparency, pointing out that a full copy of the agreement has not yet been made public. Critics have raised concerns about the potential impact on Indian farmers and what they see as the deal being tilted in favour of the United States.
The Prime Minister's office has pushed back, insisting that India negotiated from a position of strength and that agricultural sensitivities have been fully protected. Government ministers have also argued that the deal provides a new economic foundation for the India-US partnership and could double bilateral trade over the next decade.
What Comes Next
If the deal is signed in March, it will likely take another 40 to 50 days to be fully up and running, particularly when it comes to quota systems. Digital trade rules have been left out of this interim phase but remain a priority for the full bilateral trade talks expected later this year.
Getting this deal across the line is widely seen as essential if President Trump is to visit India later in 2026 for the first India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor summit.