The Center on Monday said India has adopted a calibrated tariff liberalization approach under the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, allowing removal of tariffs in phases of up to 10 years for selected products while keeping highly sensitive agricultural sectors fully protected.According to a government statement reported by ANI, agricultural market access for the United States has been structured based on product sensitivity, in line with India’s approach in previous trade agreements. The offer has been categorized into immediate elimination of duties, gradual elimination (up to 10 years), tariff reduction, margin of preference and tariff quota mechanisms.
Highly sensitive agricultural sectors remain fully protected under a “carefully crafted exemption category.” These broadly include meat, poultry, and dairy products; genetically modified food products; soy flour; corn; cereals; millets like jawar, bajra, ragi, kodo and amaranth; fruits such as bananas, strawberries, cherries and citrus; legumes such as peas, kabuli chana and moong; oilseeds; certain animal food products; peanut; Honey; malt and its extracts; non-alcoholic beverages; flours and semolina; starch; essential oils; ethanol as fuel; and tobacco.The government said a phased tariff elimination of up to ten years has been adopted for certain intermediate products used by India’s food processing industry and sourced from multiple countries. These include albumins; certain oils such as coconut oil, castor oil, and cottonseed oil; hoof meal; lard; stearin; modified starches; peptones and their derivatives; and plants and plant parts. The expanded timeline aims to provide adequate adjustment space for national stakeholders.For selected sensitive agricultural products, a tariff reduction has been applied to ensure that a measured level of tariff protection continues. These include plant parts, olives, pyrethrum and oil cakes. Alcoholic beverages have been subject to tariff reduction along with formulations based on minimum import prices, in line with the approach taken by India in other FTAs.Certain highly sensitive items have been liberalized through tariff quotas (TRQs), under which limited quantities are allowed at reduced duties. Products in this category include shelled almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and lentils.Government data shows that India maintains a trade surplus of $1.3 billion in agricultural trade with the United States, with exports of $3.4 billion and imports of $2.1 billion in 2024.In an interview with ANI, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Indian agricultural products would face lower reciprocal tariffs than its competitors, and several items would remain tariff-free.“All our agricultural products will now have a lower reciprocal tariff than our competition at 18%. Also, I will read some articles where we have reduced the reciprocal tariffs to zero. Just like tea and coffee and their extracts, there will be zero tariff. For spices, there will be zero tariff. For coconut or coconut oil, there will be zero tariff. For vegetable wax, zero tariff,” Goyal said.On Saturday, the minister said, “Agricultural products of Indian farmers will be exported to the United States without tariffs. At the same time, no tariff concessions have been given for agricultural products of American farmers entering the Indian market.”“I can categorically state without any doubt that Indian farmers, MSMEs and artisans will not suffer any loss. On the contrary, India will benefit from greater access to the US market,” he added.