Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India would “love to have a big, good, beautiful” trade pact with the United States. With the July 9 deadline approaching to avert US retaliatory tariffs, India wants to move swiftly on trade negotiations, while making clear that firm “red lines” are maintained to protect domestic interests, particularly those of farmers and livestock breeders.
Reacting to US President Donald Trump’s statement last week that a potential interim bilateral trade agreement (BTA) would “open up” the Indian market for American goods, Ms Sitharaman told Financial Express, “Yes, we would love to have an agreement, a big, good, beautiful one; why not?”
Her remarks, taken from Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, come as both countries rush to finalise a limited trade deal before the US imposes steep retaliatory tariffs, possibly 26 per cent, on key Indian exports.
“I would like to see it also from the Indian side,” Ms Sitharaman said. “The US is one of our leading trade partners, topmost if anything. At the junction, we are in, and given our growth goals and ambition to reach Viksit Bharat by 2047, the sooner we have such agreements with strong economies, the better they will serve us. So, I’d rather put my own statement on (Trump’s),” she added.
Trump, who has revived his aggressive trade agenda, recently said that a “very big” trade deal is coming with India and claimed it would “open up” Indian markets for American businesses. He later added that full access remained “unthinkable” due to India’s protective regulations, particularly in agriculture and retail.
The Finance Minister made it clear that while India was open to deeper engagement, it would not compromise on critical sectors.
“The negotiating team ensured that the industry’s concerns were all taken on board before they sat at the table. Agriculture and dairy have been among the very big red lines, where a high degree of caution has been exercised,” she said in the interview.
Ms Sitharaman also pushed back against Trump’s previous accusations that India was a “tariff king.” She called the label “unjustified,” explaining that India’s applied tariff structure was modest and well within WTO commitments.
“We have only eight duties, inclusive of zero tariffs. There have been drastic cuts in both the July and February budgets. The effective tariff rates are far below the WTO thresholds. So, for India to be called a ‘tariff king’ is absolutely unjustified,” she said.
India’s customs duties account for only around 4 per cent of the value of imported goods, a figure much lower than global averages.
India is seeking tariff relief on steel, aluminium, and select farm goods, while also pushing for visa liberalisation and easier market access for its services sector. The US wants greater agricultural and tech market access, along with stricter IP enforcement and data flow commitments.
