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White House softens language on India-US trade deal in updated fact sheet

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The White House has revised the wording of its fact sheet on the proposed India-US trade agreement, tempering some of its earlier phrasing on India’s planned purchases of American goods and clarifying references to agricultural imports.

The updated document replaces stronger language used in an earlier version when describing India’s proposed acquisition of US products. The fact sheet now states that India “intends” to make large-scale purchases, instead of earlier used term “committed”.

The revised text now states that “India intends to buy more American products and purchase over $500 billion of US energy, information and communication technology, coal, and other products.”

The shift from “committed” to “intends” signals a more cautious framing of India’s prospective buying plans.

Read more: H-1B not part of US trade talks, but Indian tech firms unfazed by restrictions, says Piyush Goyal

The fact sheet, issued by the White House, outlines the framework of a developing bilateral trade arrangement (BTA) aimed at expanding market access and addressing trade imbalances between the two countries.

Clarifications on pulses and agricultural imports

The updated version also introduces more specific language around agricultural trade. It has dropped the mention of pulses from the fact sheet and have included a “wide range of” US food and agricultural products.

“India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products,” the document now reads.

Earlier it had stated that India would eliminate or cut tariffs on a broad set of American food and agricultural goods, including “certain pulses”.

The fact sheet continues to detail other elements of the proposed agreement. These include India’s plans to address non-tariff barriers affecting bilateral trade and to negotiate rules of origin designed to ensure that the benefits of the deal accrue predominantly to both countries.

Read more: India winding down Russian oil purchases, ramping up US energy buys: USTR Greer

The document also reiterates that the two sides will work towards a framework for digital trade. It refers to plans to negotiate a robust set of bilateral digital trade rules aimed at tackling discriminatory or burdensome practices that hinder cross-border digital commerce.





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