White House lists India among nations with new Trump trade deals

The White House has included India among countries with which President Donald Trump claims to have secured new and improved trade agreements, despite the India-US interim trade deal announced in February not yet being formally signed.

Washington:  The White House has listed India among the countries with which President Donald Trump “secured new and improved trade agreements”, even though the interim trade agreement the two sides announced in February has not yet been signed.

The claim appears in a document titled “President Trump’s Second Term: Promises Made, Promises Kept, Results Delivered”, posted on the White House website on Monday, the last day of campaigning before Tuesday’s midterm elections. The document lists what it calls 127 promises Trump has kept.

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“By using tariffs as leverage, President Trump secured new and improved trade agreements with major U.S. trading partners covering more than half of global GDP – including the United Kingdom, European Union, Japan, China, India, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Cambodia,” the document said.

The word India in the White House list links to a February fact sheet headlined “The United States and India Announce Historic Trade Deal”.

However, the joint statement the two governments issued on February 6 announced only a framework. “The United States of America (United States) and India are pleased to announce that they have reached a framework for an Interim Agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade (Interim Agreement),” it said.

The statement added: “The United States and India will promptly implement this framework and work towards finalizing the Interim Agreement with a view to concluding a mutually beneficial BTA consistent with the roadmap agreed in the Terms of Reference.”

Under the framework, India was to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a range of US farm products, while Washington set an 18 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods. The US also agreed to remove the reciprocal tariff on goods such as generic pharmaceuticals, gems and diamonds and aircraft parts, “subject to the successful conclusion of the Interim Agreement”.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on October 15 that the first tranche had been “finalised” and was going through legal drafting. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the same day that the deal would be signed and implemented after legal vetting, without giving a date.

The 127-item list was released as Republicans fight to keep control of both chambers of Congress. It covers immigration, the economy, energy and foreign policy.