Washington's factsheet revision reflects 'mutual understanding' on India-US trade deal: What MEA said

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday clarified that the recent revisions made in the White House factsheet on the interim India-US trade agreement do not change the core understanding between the two countries.

Responding to queries about changes made in the factsheet on the deal, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the joint statement on their interim agreement remains the main basis of mutual understanding between the two countries.

"The Joint Statement is the framework and remains the basis of our mutual understanding in the matter. Both sides will now work towards implementing this framework and finalising the Interim Agreement," Jaiswal said during a weekly media briefing event.

He further added that “the amendments in the US factsheet reflect the shared understandings contained in the Joint Statement.”

The updated version of the “Historic Trade Deal” factsheet retained the overall structure of the interim reciprocal trade framework that was announced by US President Donald Trump following his call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the original version of the factsheet, it was stated, "India committed to buy more American products and purchase over $500 billion of US energy, information and communication technology, agricultural, coal, and other products."

However, in the revised factsheet, it now states that India "intends" to buy more American products and omits the term "agricultural" from the list of product categories, according to ANI.

Changes have also been made in the tariffs section. The earlier document said, “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, certain pulses, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.”

Meanwhile, the updated version removes the reference to "certain pulses" from this list.

As part of the trade deal, India is set to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all industrial exports from the US and a wide range of US agricultural and food products.

Meanwhile, the United States agreed to impose a reciprocal tariff of 18% on goods originating in India, including textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastic and rubber products, organic chemicals, home decor, artisanal goods and certain machinery. Previously, Washington imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods, which included 25% duties as a penalty for purchasing Russian crude oil.