Lot of doubts on Indo-US Trade Deal

Donald Trump has announced a trade deal between India and the United States with great fanfare. He declared Narendra Modi as his "best friend" and, due to the friendship and respect he has for him, agreed to a trade agreement between the US and India that will be implemented immediately, as per Modi's request.

Trump, who currently imposes a 25% import tariff on goods coming from India to the US, stated that it will be reduced to 18%. Modi immediately responded with thanks on behalf of the 140 crore Indians. Before the announcement, Trump and Modi spoke on the phone.

The announcement sounds good, but market experts are keen to see what kind of loopholes exist in this deal. Why? Because trade deals are not the same for all sectors and products. According to economic experts, the 18% tariff is just a headline figure. What needs to be examined is how much of this reduction applies to actual products at the ground level.

Most notably, Trump stated in his statement that goods worth $500 billion from the US would be dumped in India without any tariffs. His reference to "agricultural products" has raised eyebrows.

The initial stalemate in the Indo-American trade deal was due to agricultural products. If agro-products flood the Indian market from the US, India's agricultural sector will be badly affected. There are also concerns about India's dairy industry. What decisions has India made on these issues? Clarity on this matter is awaited.

Additionally, India needs to clarify its position on petroleum products. Trump unilaterally announced that India had stopped buying oil from Russia. He further claimed that from now on, India would buy oil only from the US and Venezuela. India needs to clarify whether this is feasible on the ground, especially since Reliance Industries had signed a massive deal for Russian oil just a few days ago.

If we continue down the list, there are doubts about the aquaculture and textile industries as well. These sectors are already struggling with the tariffs imposed by Trump. Will the trade deal offer any clarity on these sectors? As Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar embarks on a three-day visit to the US, let's wait to see if there will be any clarity on these loopholes in the trade deal.