India’s ‘best-ever’ trade offer meets hardline scrutiny from Washington

India has placed its most ambitious market-access proposal on the table yet, but the United States remains sceptical as high-stakes trade negotiations opened in New Delhi on December 10.

Despite the unprecedented offer, a top US trade official cautioned that India’s long-standing resistance to American agricultural imports continues to be the biggest stumbling block in closing a long-pending bilateral trade deal.

Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer described India as “a very difficult nut to crack,” even as he acknowledged that the Modi government’s latest offer is the strongest Washington has ever received. “There’s resistance in India to certain row crops and other meats and products… but they’ve been quite forward-leaning. The type of offers they’ve been talking to us about have been the best we’ve ever received, as a country,” he told lawmakers.

A US delegation led by Deputy USTR Rick Switzer began two days of negotiations on Wednesday with India’s chief negotiator and Commerce Department Joint Secretary Darpan Jain, under the supervision of Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal. The team is working to untangle key friction points — particularly India’s stiff protection of its farm, meat and dairy sectors — as Washington looks to diversify supply chains and considers India a “viable alternative market.”

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said talks were “continuously progressing” and indicated he may join the discussions. New Delhi hopes to clinch the first tranche of a framework agreement this year, targeting tariff relief for Indian exporters while continuing parallel tracks on tariff rationalisation and a full-scale bilateral trade pact.

The latest negotiations come amid rapidly intensifying trade tensions. The US has already imposed a 25% tariff — plus an additional 25% penalty — on Indian goods linked to New Delhi’s discounted purchases of Russian oil, one of the steepest levies Washington has placed on any partner.

Adding to the friction, President Donald Trump this week floated new tariffs on Indian rice after a US farmer complained of dumping at a White House roundtable. “Why is India allowed to do that? They have to pay tariffs,” Trump said, insisting that tariffs “solve the problem in two minutes.”

The core deadlock remains unchanged: Washington wants significantly deeper access for American agricultural products, while India is unwilling to compromise the livelihoods of its massive farming and dairy sectors. For now, both sides insist the door to an eventual deal remains open — but the finish line is still some distance away.