India-US trade deal 99% finalised, says Sergio Gor
The US Ambassador to India shared that negotiations between India and the US have been underway for nearly one-and-a-half years.
The White House has welcomed a newly announced trade agreement with India, calling it a major economic win for the United States.
At the centre of Washington’s claim is a sweeping pledge: a shift away from Russian oil, higher US energy purchases, and a proposed USD 500 billion investment by India across key American sectors.
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But in New Delhi, the numbers are already under scrutiny. The opposition has asked whether the scale being projected by the US administration is even feasible.
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The agreement, announced by US President Donald Trump, is being framed as part of Washington’s broader push to rebalance trade, protect domestic industry, and expand export markets. Indian ministers, meanwhile, have called it a growth-defining opportunity, while insisting sensitive sectors remain protected.
What the White House says the deal delivers
Speaking at the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed to ending purchases of Russian oil and turning to US energy suppliers.
“India committed to not only no longer purchasing Russian oil, but buying oil from the United States, also perhaps from Venezuela too, which will now have a direct benefit on the US and American people,” she told reporters.
Leavitt also said India had pledged USD 500 billion in investments into the US economy, covering transportation, energy, and agriculture.
“PM Modi committed to an investment of USD 500 billion into the United States, including energy, transportation, and agricultural products,” she said.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later told CNBC that the agreement would preserve certain tariff protections for the US while opening Indian markets in selected sectors.
“We’ll continue to maintain some level of tariff against India,” Greer said, while confirming that New Delhi had agreed to reduce duties on American agricultural products, manufactured goods, chemicals, and medical devices.
At the same time, he said India would continue to safeguard sensitive farm sectors.
“India, like every country in the world, including the United States, has some protection around some certain key areas in agriculture, and they will continue to control that,” Greer said.
Also Read: India–US relations: What Jaishankar discussed with Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent in Washington
Congress questions figures; government calls it future-defining
The scale of the deal has been questioned by Congress MP Manish Tewari, who argued that the numbers cited by Washington do not align with existing trade data.
In a post on X, Tewari wrote: “The math in @POTUS @realDonaldTrump @WhiteHouse social Media post on the purported Indo-US Trade Deal simply just doesn’t add up. If you look at the figures below, where can or does the USD 500 Billion figure come from? India exports to US in 2024 was USD 79.44 Billion dollars and imports from US were USD 38.99 Billion USD.”
He also questioned whether India had committed to sourcing a dominant share of its imports from the US.
“From 39 billion USD approximately to go to USD 500 billion in imports will be quite a journey. India’s total imports between April-December 2025 were 730.84 billion USD. Have we committed to sourcing 3/4 th of our imports from one single source- US? That seems to be the assertion of @realDonaldTrump? Government must answer!”
The government has pushed back against the criticism. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described the agreement as a “future-defining deal” that would open new opportunities for Indian businesses.
“This trade agreement is the best possible deal for India when compared to competing countries,” he said, adding that sensitive areas of the economy had been protected.
Goyal said exporters, technology firms, investors, and labour-intensive industries stood to benefit, pointing to what he described as widespread enthusiasm across sectors.
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