New Delhi keeps channels open with Washington amid tariff dispute

India and the United States are maintaining informal lines of communication, with New Delhi having no immediate plans to retaliate against President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on the South Asian nation, an official familiar with the matter said.

While negotiations on a bilateral trade deal have been postponed, “the two countries continue to communicate on critical issues, including defence and foreign policy,” the senior official from India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry said, speaking on condition of anonymity, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The official highlighted virtual talks this week involving Trump administration representatives and senior members of India’s foreign and defence ministries as an example of continued engagement between key departments in both governments.

New Delhi remains committed to pursuing a bilateral trade agreement, even though no date has been set for the next round of talks. A US trade team that had been scheduled to visit India from  August 25 to 29 for the sixth round of negotiations has deferred its trip, the official said.

Trump’s 25% tariffs on India over its ties with Russia came into effect earlier this week, doubling existing duties on Indian exports.

The move threatens to undermine Washington’s long-term efforts to strengthen relations with New Delhi, hitting labour-intensive industries such as textiles and jewellery hardest and potentially eroding India’s export competitiveness against China and Vietnam.

The Indian government has criticised the tariffs as unfair and indicated it will continue buying Russian oil “depending on the financial benefit.”

The official also emphasised that a trade deal between the two countries “can’t be signed until both the reciprocal tariffs and the secondary duties over Russian oil purchases are scrapped.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev