New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said India is closely watching developments in the United States after the US Supreme Court verdict on tariffs, and noted that the joint statement on the proposed interim trade deal provides for “rebalancing” of commitments “should circumstances change”.
His remarks come against the backdrop of the Trump administration announcing a temporary 10 per cent tariff on all trading partners for 150 days, after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariff move.
“We’ll have to watch. And by the way, you must have read my joint statement that we had finalised with the US. It has categorically said that should the circumstances change, the deal would be re-balanced… to ensure that the balance of the deal is maintained on both sides,” Goyal said when asked whether India’s negotiating position would change after the verdict.
A joint statement issued on February 7 said that in the event of any changes to the agreed-upon tariffs of either country, the other side may modify its commitments. Referring to this, Goyal said it “provides that the sanctity of the deal is both ways”.
The minister was speaking at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026 here.
On February 7, India and the US announced that they had finalised the contours for the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement. Under the pact, the US announced it will reduce reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 25 per cent. The US has also removed the 25 per cent punitive tariffs on India that were imposed for purchasing Russian crude oil, the minister said.
Both sides also agreed to reduce import duties on a number of goods. India agreed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits.
As per the pact, India has stated that it intends to purchase USD 500 billion worth of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products and coking coal over the next five years.
To finalise the legal text, chief negotiators of both countries were scheduled to meet this week in Washington, but the meeting was put on hold after the US Supreme Court verdict on Trump tariffs.
“It is an evolving situation. We’ll have to see. The Trump administration has made some comments… They have many other tools that they could possibly use (to impose new tariffs). They’ve already used one of them, Section 122, to put a 10 per cent tariff. I think they are on record that next week, they may increase it to 15 per cent for the first 150 days,” Goyal said.
Asked whether the changes in tariffs create an incentive for India, he said it gives domestic firms an opportunity to continue exports without hindrance.
“But bear in mind, the deal was better because it had many other elements… So till we finally ink it, I am not in a position to share every detail. Though all the sensitive matters have already been clarified. But I can assure you, there’s so many more positives to the deal that we should wait. Let us see how the situation moves forward,” he said.
Goyal said sensitive sectors such as dairy, soyameal, poultry, GM food, rice, wheat and corn are fully protected.
“Remember, trade deal or international trade is about comparative advantage… A trade deal is not only about what the tariff is. It is more about the competitive advantage that you get over your competition, and certainly at a 50 per cent tariff, we were at a huge disadvantage in our exports,” he added. PTI