India says trade talks with the US have hit a 'plateau'

Trade talks between India and the United States have reached a “plateau”, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday, after months of negotiations failed to settle key disagreements.

“The agreement’s negotiations are still ongoing, although we’d like to believe that both the sides have reached a plateau, beyond which giving or taking might be very, very difficult,” Sitharaman said at the Munich Security Conference event in New Delhi, Dawn reported, citing AFP.

She added that there was still “room to operate from; both sides would do it”.

A deal that has stalled

The two countries announced an initial understanding in February. Under it:

• The US would cut tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent
• India would lower duties on a range of industrial and agricultural products

Several rounds of talks have followed, but they have been complicated by a US investigation into unfair trade practices against several countries, including India.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said last week he did not believe an announcement was “imminent”, but that both sides had identified the “universe of items that are sticking points”.

Russian oil and tariffs

Relations soured last year when the Trump administration imposed 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods, partly over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil during the war in Ukraine, The Express Tribune reported.

The US has since enacted the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which lets the president impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on goods from countries that buy most of their oil or gas from Russia and help it evade sanctions. India has raised concerns with Washington about the law.

Modi and Trump talk

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President Donald Trump by phone last week. Modi said they reviewed cooperation “in trade, defence, energy, critical technologies and other areas” and agreed to maintain “close engagement”. The two leaders also “exchanged views on regional and international issues, including ongoing efforts to advance global peace and security”, Modi said. The call came as India’s trade minister began a visit to the US for more negotiations.

Trade between the two countries totalled about $149.4 billion in 2025, according to officials.

The view from Pakistan

India’s struggle to close a deal with Washington comes as Pakistan seeks to deepen its own economic ties with the US, including through investment talks during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visits to New York and London last month. How Washington treats New Delhi on tariffs and Russian oil is being watched closely across the region.

What comes next

Both sides say they want to keep talking, but the remaining issues, from farm products to Russian energy, are the hardest to resolve. Without a breakthrough, Indian exporters face continued uncertainty, and the threat of new US tariffs under the sanctions law still hangs over the relationship.

Why it matters

The India-US trade relationship is one of the largest in the world. A stalled deal shows the limits of New Delhi’s ties with Washington under Trump, especially over Russian oil. Read our report on Prime Minister Shehbaz’s meetings with investors in London.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn, The Express Tribune and AFP.