The Interim Agreement between India and the U.S. will not include any item that would hurt Indian farmers, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday (February 7, 2026), adding that there are several areas where Indian farmers and MSMEs have received duty-free entry into the U.S. market.
India and the U.S. early Saturday (February 7, 2026) morning issued a joint statement in which they announced that the two countries had reached a framework for an Interim Agreement, and would continue working together towards a more comprehensive Bilateral Trade Agreement.
While U.S. President Donald Trump has already signed an executive order removing the 25% tariffs the U.S. had imposed on imports from India for its trade in Russian oil, Mr. Goyal said that another executive order is expected next week that would reduce the remaining 25% reciprocal tariff to 18%.
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“We have not included any item where any Indian farmer will be hurt,” Mr. Goyal said at a press conference later in the day. “All sensitive items have been kept out of the deal. No genetically modified items will enter India, and no tariff relief has been given [to the U.S.] on meat, poultry, dairy, soybean, maize, rice, wheat, sugar, millets, fruits such as bananas, strawberries, cherries, citrus fruit, greenpea, kabuli chana, moong, oilseeds, ethanol, and tobacco.”
How India will benefit
He further listed out a number of other sectors that would see duties on exports to the U.S. being reduced from 50% to 0%.
These include gems and diamonds, pharmaceutical products, aircraft parts, machinery parts, generic drugs, pharma products, some auto parts, gems and diamonds, platinum, clocks and watches, essential oils, home decor items such as chandeliers, lamp parts, some inorganic chemicals, some paper, plastic, and wood items, among others.
“Several agricultural exports will see zero duty from 50%, such as spices, tea, coffee, copra, coconuts and coconut oil, vegetable oil, areca nut, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, chestnuts, several fruits and vegetables, such as avocados, bananas, guavas, mangoes, kiwis, papaya, mushrooms, material for vegetable plating, vegetable sap, vegetable roots, cereals like barley, some processed foods,” Mr. Goyal said.
Where India has reduced tariffs
The Commerce Minister acknowledged that India has reduced or removed tariffs on items that India needs and does not produce, or those that it produces but not in enough quantities.
“Some items will see tariffs being removed immediately, while others will see tariffs removed in a phased manner, while some others will also see quota-based tariffs,” Mr. Goyal said.
These items include apples, Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS), wines and spirits (with a minimum import price), pista, walnuts, almonds, some industrial production inputs, many medicines for cancer treatment, heart treatment, neurological treatment, some cosmetics, organic and inorganic chemicals, several products related to computers, and several medical equipments.
“It is big win for India that the U.S. has agreed to provide us with various ICT products that we need,” Mr. Goyal.
Published – February 07, 2026 03:06 pm IST
