India Denies Commitment To Lower US Tariffs, Reject Trump's Claims

The central government has refuted claims that it had committed to reducing import duties on American goods, despite assertions from President Donald Trump that New Delhi had agreed to lower tariffs, The Times of India reported.

On Tuesday, the government informed a Parliamentary panel that it had made "no commitments to the US on the issue," the report stated.

According to the report, the government has requested time until September to address the matter, which President Trump has repeatedly raised.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal, while appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, reportedly stated that India and the United States were engaged in discussions on a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement, focusing on long-term cooperation rather than immediate tariff reductions.

On Friday, Donald Trump claimed that India had agreed to significantly reduce tariffs because he had exposed New Delhi for imposing "massive tariffs" on American imports.

He further accused all trading partners of engaging in "unfair" practices and announced the introduction of reciprocal tariffs on several countries, including India, starting next month.

"India charges us massive tariffs. Massive. You can't even sell anything in India. They have agreed, by the way; they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done," *ANI* quoted Trump as saying.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick alleged that India imposes some of the highest tariffs on American products globally. He urged New Delhi to reconsider its stance, emphasising the "special" bilateral relationship between the two nations.

Speaking virtually at the India Today Conclave, Lutnick stressed the need for India to liberalise its agricultural trade for imports and suggested that the country could adopt a "smarter" approach when negotiating with the US, its "most important trading partner."

Meanwhile, US stock markets suffered a sharp decline on Monday as investors grew concerned over the economic consequences of President Trump's tariff policies.