From medicines to grains… tax-free entry into the US! Farmers and pharmaceutical giants will dominate the US
India has secured zero tariffs on several exports to the United States. This interim trade deal will benefit agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and manufactured products. Farmers' interests are protected as key agricultural products such as tea, spices, and coffee will not be subject to US tariffs. Billions of dollars worth of pharmaceutical exports will also be tariff-free.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stated at a press briefing that under the interim trade agreement, India has secured zero tariffs on many of its exports to the United States, with agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and high-value manufactured goods benefiting the most.
Keeping farmers' interests paramount, Goyal emphasized that the agreement will open the US market to many Indian agricultural products without imposing any reciprocal tariffs, ensuring that domestic farmers are not harmed.
Goyal stated that even in the agricultural sector, many Indian products can now be exported to the US at zero tariffs. He further stated that items such as tea, spices, coffee, coconut oil, copra, and vegetable wax will not be subject to any tariffs in the US.
There is no tariff on these agricultural products.
He said that a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and agricultural products, including bananas, mangoes, guavas, avocados, kiwis, papayas, pineapples, mushrooms, root vegetables, cereals, barley, bakery products, cocoa products, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and citrus fruit juices, will be able to enter the US market without any duty. Goyal said that there is discussion across the country that many agricultural products from India will now be able to enter the US at zero duty.
He reiterated that the government has not taken any steps that harm the interests of farmers. Goyal said, "I can say with full confidence that this India-US deal does not harm the interests of India's farmers, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), or the handloom and handicraft sectors in any way."
Benefits from pharma to electronics
In addition to agriculture, Goyal said that India's pharmaceutical exports to the US, worth approximately $13 billion, will be duty-free. Gems and jewelry exports, along with several other high-value products, will also be exempt from tariffs.
Looking ahead, Goyal said that smartphones exported from India will also be duty-free in the future, and reciprocal tariffs on several other Indian exports will be reduced to zero.
These include aircraft and machinery parts, generic medicines and pharmaceutical products, gems and diamonds from Bengal, Kerala, and Maharashtra, coins, platinum, watches, essential oils, select home decor items such as chandeliers, seeds, inorganic chemicals, and compounds.
These products will be free of reciprocal duties. Goyal said that duties in the US will now be zero. The minister emphasized that the agreement reflects India's growing export potential, while also striking a balance between market access and domestic safeguards, especially for agriculture.