Trade talks between India and U.S. ‘positive’, senior official

File photo of Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal

India and the U.S. are “proactively engaged” in boosting trade between the two countries, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Monday (March 17, 2025).

“We are proactively engaging with the U.S., and discussing mutually beneficial issues which can increase the trade between the two countries,” Mr. Barthwal told presspersons on Monday in response to questions on U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to impose reciprocal tariffs from April 2. He described the talks as “positive”.

Senior government officials said that these talks were taking place within the framework of “Mission 500”, which aims to increase trade between the two countries from $200 billion to $500 billion, besides negotiations on the bilateral trade agreement which he said will be multi-sectoral.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal was in Washington DC between March 4 and 6 where he met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Mr. Barthwal said these were “positive talks. And these positive talks will continue”.

The Commerce Secretary declined to comment on the specific issue of tariffs on premium electric cars from the U.S., such as those made by Tesla, and the status of the revised import policy announced last year to woo the American automaker. He also declined comment on whether tax sops would be extended for Tesla beyond the export policy as it has not yet come forward to express interest in domestic manufacturing to avail the benefits of the policy.

The Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars (SPMEPC) in India was notified in March 2024. The SPMEPC offers a lower custom duty of 15% instead of 70% for a period of five years subject to a manufacturer setting up production facility in India within a three-year period involving a minimum investment of ₹4,150 crore. The applicant will have to achieve a domestic value addition of minimum 25% by the end of three years and 50% by the end of the fifth year.

U.S. President Donald Trump had said that if Tesla were to build a factory in India to circumvent tariffs, it would be “unfair” to the U.S. Mr. Trump had also called out India’s high duty on cars during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. last month but agreed to work towards an early trade deal and resolve their stand-off over tariffs.