India sets record straight: No tariff cuts agreed with US
What's the story
The Indian government has clarified that it has "not committed" to reducing import duties on American products.
This comes just days after US President Donald Trump claimed that India had agreed to "cut their tariffs way down."
Trump has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with India's high tariffs, calling them "massive" and "almost restrictive." "You can't sell anything into India," he said.
Official response
Decisions on tariffs will take time
In response to Trump's claims, the Indian government told a parliamentary panel that "no commitments had been made to the US on the issue."
The government has sought time until September to address this issue, which has been repeatedly raised by Trump.
India's Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal stressed that both countries are working toward a bilateral trade deal.
Bilateral discussions
India and US aim for mutually beneficial trade agreement
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump are reportedly working on a "mutually beneficial trade agreement."
Modi highlighted this during his visit to the White House last month.
The US is a significant market for India's information technology and services sectors, while in recent years, Washington has made substantial military hardware sales to New Delhi.
Trade
Ongoing trade negotiations and future prospects
Since India and the US have only just started negotiating a trade deal, it is too early to talk about specifics such as tariff cuts.
The two countries intend to negotiate the first phase of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by end of this year.
Recently, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal visited the US to discuss this trade deal with his American counterpart, the US Commerce Secretary, and the US Trade Representative and their teams.