Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles Shri Piyush Goyal is talking to media on EU-India trade relations. India will waive tariffs on industrial imports from four European nations for a $100 billion investment over 15 years, ending nearly 16 years of negotiations.
Thierry Monasse | Getty Images News | Getty Images
New Delhi is ready to place orders worth up to $80 billion for Boeing planes, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal reportedly said, signaling New Delhi’s willingness to expand trade with the U.S.
India’s demand for aircraft alone, with orders for Boeing “yet to be placed but ready,” is nearly $80 billion, Goyal said on Thursday, adding that if engines and other spare parts are added, imports from U.S. will “cross 100 billion dollars just [from] aircrafts.”
Families of passengers who died in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad in June last year are suing Boeing, over the alleged role of defective dual switches in the disaster that saw 241 of the 242 the minister said on board lose their lives.
The minister also said that there was potential to procure a minimum of $500 billion worth of goods from the U.S. over the next five years, but clarified that there was no explicit investment commitment made as part of the trade deal with Washington.
On Monday, within a week of the India-EU trade deal, U.S. President Donald Trump announced in a social media post that Washington and New Delhi had agreed a trade deal.
Trump said that the U.S. will reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18%, while New Delhi will lower duties on U.S. goods to zero, replace Russian oil with supply from U.S. and Venezuela, open sensitive markets such as agriculture and buy $500 billion worth of American goods.
The Indian Prime minister expressed delight over cut in duties, as goods from the country entering U.S. have been subjected to 50% in tariffs, but did not acknowledge any other details shared by Trump.
While experts agree that India will buy more from the U.S., they have said the target of buying goods worth $500 billion from Washington “seems a stretch.”
India’s overall goods imports stood at $720.24 billion in financial year 2025, with its trade deficit at $94.3 billion. That includes goods worth $45.3 billion from the U.S.
Deal timeline
India and the U.S. will sign a joint statement in the next 3-4 days, finalizing the first tranche of the trade deal between the two countries, Goyal said on Thursday. The 18% tariffs on Indian exports to the U.S. will become effective after the joint statement is issued, he added.
Two sides will then sign a formal agreement in mid-March, after which the tariff concession for U.S. goods entering India will become effective.
Since the deal has been announced, the Indian government has been scant with details and is facing questions from opposition political parties.
The leader of India’s opposition, Rahul Gandhi, has accused Modi of being “compromised” and of having “surrendered on Tariffs.
The Indian government has not confirmed some of Trump’s claims about the trade deal such as India reducing duties on U.S. goods to zero and halting imports of Russian oil, as well as a firm commitment to purchasing goods worth $500 billion.
Experts say Trump’s claims seem “unrealistic” and risk the U.S. backtracking on the trade deal, citing his threats to raise tariffs on South Korea, after slashing them in July last year, despite a trade deal.