India-US trade deal to push exports: Official

New Delhi: The India-US trade deal will further expand and deepen trade between the two large economies and create more opportunities for export of the country’s labour-intensive and manufacturing sectors in the American market, a top finance ministry official said on Tuesday.

India and the US agreed on a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent, US President Donald Trump said on Monday after a phone call with PM Narendra Modi.

“India-US trade deal will further expand and deepen trade between two of the largest economies of the world. It will create more opportunities for our labour-intensive and manufacturing sectors in the US market and give impetus to mutually-beneficial collaboration in high and advanced technology sectors,” said Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava.

Modi, in a social media post, said he was delighted that ‘Made in India’ products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent.

Under the trade deal, the US will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent, lower than that for countries like China, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

The Trump administration had imposed a 50 per cent tariff, including a 25 per cent penalty for purchasing Russian oil, impacting India’s exports to America.