 (6).png)
1 hour ago
3
ARTICLE AD BOX
The White House has revised its fact sheet on the India-US trade deal within 24 hours, removing references to pulses and altering language on digital services. Discover the implications of these changes and what they mean for future trade negotiations between the two nations.
The White House revised its factsheet on the US-India trade agreement by removing a reference to pulses and changing language around digital services on Tuesday, 10 February (US Time).
The White House issued a fact sheet titled 'The United States and India Announce Historic Trade Deal (Interim Agreement)' on 9 February, Monday (US Time) days after India and the US announced, in a joint statement, the framework for an Interim Agreement on reciprocal, mutually beneficial trade.
What changes have been made?
-The revised version has deleted “certain pulses” from the list of agricultural products on which India agreed to reduce tariffs. The original specifically included pulses alongside items like tree nuts, soybean oil, wine, and spirits.
-The revised version has also removed a reference to India scrapping digital services taxes and now only says that India is “committed to negotiate a robust set of bilateral digital trade rules.”
The White House also removed a reference to “rules that prohibit the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions," the news agencies reported.
An initial version of the fact sheet had highlighted key terms of the agreement including, that 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, red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, "certain pulses", soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.
The fact sheet also said that India committed to buying more American products and purchasing over USD 500 billion in US energy, information and communication technology, agricultural, coal, and other products.
What does the revised fact sheet say?
The revised fact sheet, issued now, removed the reference to pulses and changed the word “committed” used for India to “intends.”
“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,” it reads.
"India intends to buy more American products and purchase over $500 billion of US energy, information and communication technology, coal, and other products," the revised fact sheet said.
The tweak was pointed out by former Home Secretary Sanjeev Gupta in a post on X.
The joint statement issued last week on the trade deal had made no mention of "pulses" in items on which India will eliminate or reduce tariffs for American products.
India intends to purchase $500 billion of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next 5 years.
The joint statement had also maintained that "India intends to purchase $500 billion of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next 5 years."
(With agency inputs)
English (US) ·