With US President Donald Trump temporarily halting the full implementation of his “reciprocal tariff” — reducing the duty on Indian exports from the previously announced 26 per cent to 10 per cent — the Narendra Modi government has gained a crucial window of opportunity to advance bilateral trade agreements (BTAs). This includes not only a potential deal with the US, but also with the European Union and the United Kingdom.
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Leveraging Trade Surpluses: India Urged to Fast-Track Comprehensive Deals with US, EU, and UK to Boost Global Trade Presence
In 2023-24, the US, EU, and UK collectively accounted for 38.1% of India’s merchandise exports and 16.5% of its imports. Importantly, India maintains trade surpluses with all three — unlike with countries such as China, members of ASEAN, or others like South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Australia. This favorable trade balance gives India a stronger position to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with the US, EU, and UK. Achieving this would clearly signal that India is serious about expanding its role in global trade.
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Non-Tariff Barriers Undermine Fair Trade: Calls Grow to Address Opaque and Unscientific Regulations in Global Commerce
Current trade discussions should go beyond just reducing tariffs and also focus on addressing non-tariff barriers (NTBs). For instance, the EU’s proposed carbon border tax on imports — aimed at penalizing emissions generated during production — and its inclusion of environmental, labor, and human rights issues in trade negotiations are examples of such NTBs.
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