NEW DELHI: Chief negotiator Darpan Jain will lead a delegation to Washington next week to finalise the legal text of the proposed India–US trade agreement, the Commerce Ministry said on Monday.
Following the joint statement agreed earlier this month, the framework deal is now being converted into a formal legal agreement, said Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal.
“The effort is to see that we can finalise and sign the legal agreement in March 2026,” he told reporters when asked about the timeline.
On the proposed reduction in the reciprocal tariff from 25% to 18%, Agrawal said the US is processing the matter and that India expects it to be completed soon. “Our expectation is that it should be done this week. If not, the team will be there next week and we can pursue the matter and understand why it is taking time,” he said.
The US has already removed the 25% additional tariff imposed after India agreed not to buy crude from Russia. However, the 25% reciprocal tariff has not yet been reduced to 18%, as agreed by both sides. Overall, the US imposed an additional 50% tariff on Indian goods -- 25% as a reciprocal tariff and another 25% linked to India’s oil purchase from Russia. Agrawal said most favoured nation (MFN) tariffs remain unchanged,meaning the effective tariff on Indian goods will be 18% plus MFN rates.