In trade talks with US, India pushes for less than 20% tariff rate: Sources
India is pressing the US for tariffs below 20% and removal of the 25% levy on Russian oil purchases. Jaishankar flagged “double standards” on energy access during ongoing trade talks in New York.
Washington: As India and the United States agreed to continue trade negotiations, sources told IANS that New Delhi is pressing for a tariff rate below 20 per cent.
Officials see this as vital to safeguarding India’s competitiveness, given that other South and Southeast Asian nations face US tariff rates in the range of 15–20 per cent.
Sources also said New Delhi is pressing for the removal of the additional 25 per cent tariff on Russian oil purchases, aligning with the Trump administration’s stance that European nations must also curb imports and insisting India should not be singled out.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, criticised “double standards” in global access to energy and food supplies.
“The costs to the Global South in terms of energy, food and fertiliser security were starkly demonstrated by ongoing conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza… Double standards are clearly in evidence,” Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York on Monday. After their talks, Rubio described India as of “critical” value to the US and welcomed progress on trade.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal later confirmed that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were also part of the discussions. “The focus of the discussion was on trade and tariffs,” Jaiswal told reporters in New Delhi.
A Ministry of Commerce and Industry statement said the Indian delegation had “constructive meetings” with the US government and both sides “exchanged views on possible contours of the deal” while agreeing to continue engagements for an early, mutually beneficial conclusion.
A day after meeting Jaishankar, Rubio told NBC News that the Trump administration might be willing to “fix” the additional 25 per cent tariffs imposed on India over Russian oil. “We have already seen the measures we have taken with regards to India, although that’s something we hope we can fix,” he said, while criticising European countries for not “doing enough” to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Reiterating India’s stance, the MEA spokesperson said, “There cannot be any double standard in the matter,” pointing out that the US itself had called on the EU, NATO and G7 nations to stop buying Russian oil and gas.
