Overview

• An Indian delegation led by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal returned from Oct. 15–17 talks in Washington, with a senior official saying no major differences now remain.
• Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal described the negotiations as cordial and reiterated there will be no agreement unless farmers, fishermen and MSMEs are protected.
• The U.S. currently levies a 50% tariff on many Indian goods, including a 25% component linked to India’s purchases of Russian crude.
• President Donald Trump again claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi would halt Russian oil purchases and warned of keeping “massive” tariffs, a claim India’s foreign ministry said it was unaware of.
• Indian officials say energy diversification is under discussion, noting scope to raise U.S. oil and gas imports by roughly $12–15 billion, while September merchandise exports to the U.S. fell about 12% under the higher duties.