Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Donald Trump administration in the United States has revised its factsheet on the key terms of the India-US trade deal, dropping the claim that New Delhi would reduce tariffs on certain pulses and altering wording relating to the $500 billion purchase “commitment”, among other things. The revisions in the factsheet are significant, given that agricultural imports, particularly pulses, are sensitive for India’s farm sector.
The factsheet released by the White House on February 10 explicitly mentioned certain pulses among the products for which India would reduce or eliminate tariffs. “India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, certain pulses, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products,” the statement read.
The updated version of the document no longer carries any mention of pulses. It says, “India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.”
India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, including lentils, chickpeas, and dry beans. To preserve the interest of Indian farmers, New Delhi has imposed substantial tariffs on American exports in these categories. The change in the US factsheet suggests India successfully pushed back on the characterisation.
The Trump administration has also removed the mention of agricultural goods from the text. It also altered its wording around President Trump’s claim about India’s “commitment” to buying over $500 billion of US goods.