India-US trade deal: Day on, White House retracts on exporting pulses

In a quiet move within less than 24 hours, the White House has revised its factsheet on the proposed India-US interim trade deal, changing key language and removing some references, including the import of certain pulses, which had not appeared in the original joint statement issued by the two countries.

On February 6, India and the US released a joint statement outlining the broad understanding reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. A few days later, on February 9, the White House issued a detailed factsheet, which included commitments that were either not mentioned or described differently in the joint statement.

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Now, the White House has quietly updated that factsheet. One of the major changes relates to India’s purchase of American goods. The earlier factsheet had said that India would “commit” to buying US products worth $500 billion. The revised version softens this language, saying India “intends” to buy these goods. Another change concerns the digital services tax.

The earlier version stated that India would “remove its digital services tax”. This reference has now been dropped from the updated factsheet.

Besides, pulses are no longer mentioned in the revised version of the factsheet, which had originally mentioned that India would import pulses from the US.

However, even in its current form, the US factsheet refers to wider agricultural market access than what was stated in the February 6 joint statement.

It says India has agreed to “eliminate or reduce tariffs” on US industrial goods and a wide range of agricultural products, including dried distillers grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits.

The joint statement, however, had clearly said red sorghum imports from the US would be limited to animal feed. This specific condition is not mentioned in the White House factsheet.

The agricultural provisions of the deal remain a politically sensitive issue in India, where farm imports and tariff protections are closely watched.

The factsheet also states that during a phone call between President Trump and PM Modi, the US agreed to remove the additional 25 per cent tariff imposed on Indian imports. Trump later signed an executive order withdrawing the additional tariff and reducing the reciprocal tariff on India from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.

According to the US document, this decision was linked to India’s commitment to stop purchasing Russian oil. However, India has maintained that its energy sourcing decisions were based on national interest and energy security needs.

The differences between the joint statement and the revised White House factsheet — and the quick corrections made within a day — are likely to be closely examined as negotiations move forward towards a broader bilateral trade agreement.