New Delhi was expected to sign an interim deal with Washington in March, but it will reportedly be put off by a few months
India will postpone signing a trade deal with the United States by a few months, Reuters has reported, citing four Indian sources.
The Indian Commerce Ministry has denied the report.
“It is denied that there is any hold off in bilateral engagement,” the ministry said. “It is reiterated that the two sides remain engaged for a mutually beneficial trade agreement.”
The supposed delay comes amid investigations by the Donald Trump administration into what it calls excessive industrial capacity among trading partners such as India, according to the Reuters report.
India and the US announced an interim trade deal last month, after months of negotiations following a steep 50% tariff imposed by Washington on the South Asian nation in August 2025.
Washington reduced India’s tariff burden to 18% from the earlier 50%, which was the highest for any country in Asia. Half of the tariff was for New Delhi’s imports of Russian oil.
The US said that as a part of the deal, India would stop buying oil from Russia, a claim that New Delhi has not confirmed.
Trade talks between the countries stalled last month after the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs on imports from various countries.
Earlier this month, the US granted India a 30-day waiver to purchase oil from Russia, aimed at ensuring stability in the global oil market following the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
India has stated that it does not need US permission to buy Russian oil.
“In the national interest, India purchases oil from wherever the most competitive and affordable prices are available,” the Indian government said in a statement last week.
India signed a trade pact with the European Union this year, and with the UK, Oman, and New Zealand in 2025.
