Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: A clock ran out in Washington on Friday, and India did not blink. The temporary 10% across-the-board American tariff, imposed under Section 122 of the US Trade Act in February, reached the statutory 150-day limit written into that provision and lapsed automatically on July 24. It had been billed for weeks as a deadline India had to beat. It came, it went, and the first-phase India–US Bilateral Trade Agreement remains where negotiators have long said it was — at the last one per cent of legal text, close enough to see the finish and unhurried about crossing it.
What actually changed is narrower than the countdown suggested. With the emergency provision expired, most American imports revert to normal most-favoured-nation treatment, restoring the framework that preceded the April 2025 escalation. Indian exports now largely face MFN duties alongside a 10% Section 301 levy, while steel and automobiles remain under the steeper Section 232 regime. The punitive architecture that once threatened 25% and more on Indian goods has been dismantled in stages — Washington moved its reciprocal rate to 18% earlier this year — and what remains is a negotiation about the last, most valuable increment of access.
Terms over timing: With the temporary US tariff window expired on July 24 and most trade reverting to MFN rates plus a 10% Section 301 levy, India has held out for durable competitive access rather than negotiating to a calendar.
A deadline is only leverage if you fear it. India spent the week showing that it did not — and arrives on the other side with its negotiating position intact.
At a Glance
• Expired: the US 10% Section 122 tariff, at its 150-day limit, July 24
• Now: most Indian exports face MFN rates plus a 10% Section 301 levy
• Status: first-phase India–US agreement at the “last 1%”; nothing signed
• Britain: India–UK CETA in force since July 15 — 99% of goods duty-free or reduced
India’s composure has a foundation worth naming: this is no longer a country negotiating with a single counterpart. The India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement entered into force on July 15, opening the British market to 99% of Indian goods duty-free or at reduced tariffs, with an accompanying Double Contribution Convention sparing Indian professionals in Britain from duplicate social-security payments. A concluded understanding with the European Union widens the same logic. An exporter in Tiruppur or Ludhiana now has more than one door, and a negotiator who can point to other open doors negotiates differently.
The constructive way forward is to convert patience into paperwork and paperwork into orders. Leader-level intent remains clear on both sides, and the remaining text is small enough that officials describe it in fractions of a percentage point. What matters is that the schedule India signs delivers terms at least as good as competing Asian economies obtain, because a tariff line negotiated once governs a decade of shipments. Meanwhile the immediate task falls to Indian industry: use the British corridor that opened ten days ago, keep logistics and standards compliance sharp, and be running at full speed on the day the American text is finally initialled.
