U.S. officials are moving to put on paper the detailed terms of a trade understanding with India that was announced this week, with key tariff shifts and preserved protections for some farm products, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a television interview.
Speaking live on CNBC, Greer outlined several elements of the agreement. He said the pact will lower India’s tariffs on American industrial goods from 13.5% to zero. At the same time, he confirmed the United States will cut its tariff on most Indian goods to 18% from 50%, a change Greer said reflects the size and growth of India’s trade surplus with the United States. The surplus reached $53.5 billion during the first 11 months of 2025, up from $45.8 billion for the whole of 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
On agricultural trade, Greer said the U.S. would continue to press for access to some parts of India’s protected agricultural market but acknowledged India will retain certain import safeguards. He said tariffs for a range of agricultural items - including tree nuts, wine, spirits, fruits and vegetables - will move to zero under the agreement. He specifically did not mention rice, beef, soybeans, sugar or dairy, which the United States noted India had excluded from a recent trade accord with the European Union.
Greer also described understandings reached on technical barriers to trade - areas where India has not accepted U.S. standards. He said there will be a process for recognizing U.S. standards, but that India must complete its own internal political procedures before formally accepting those standards. "We know American goods are safe," he said, and noted that recognizing standards would open a market of more than 1 billion people to more U.S. goods.
The trade conversation extended to energy. Greer said India had not been an importer of Russian oil prior to 2022 and 2023 and that New Delhi has been working since late last year to wind down its purchases of Russian crude. He characterized India’s efforts to diversify energy suppliers - including purchases from the United States and Venezuela - as a positive shift.
Greer did not provide a start date for the tariff adjustments, saying the administration is in the process of "finishing papering it" even though the specifics and details are known. He reiterated that India would maintain certain agricultural protections as part of the final arrangements.
Contextual note - The information above summarizes the content of Greer’s interview and the trade terms he described. Details on timing and the administrative steps required to make the changes official remain to be completed.