India will continue to maintain certain protections in agricultural sector: US Trade Representative

New Delhi, [India] February 3 (ANI): India has agreed to eliminate tariffs on industrial goods under the trade agreement with the United States, cutting average duties to zero from the current 13.5%, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said, according to CNBC.
Speaking about the contours of the deal, Greer noted that India will maintain certain protections in the agricultural sector.
During an interaction with CNBC, Greer emphasized that the removal of non-tariff barriers forms a key portion of the agreement.
He told CNBC that the US would continue to work on access to certain protected areas of India's agriculture sector. He said India's tariffs for a variety of things like wine, spirits, tree nuts, vegetables, fruits "they're going down to zero."
The trade deal is expected to significantly deepen bilateral economic ties, boost industrial trade, and address long-standing concerns over market access between the two countries.
Addressing a press conference on the India-US trade deal on Tuesday, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said it is an agreement that every Indian can be proud of and is under the final stages of detailing between the negotiating teams of the two countries.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always championed the agriculture and dairy sectors, safeguarding their interests and noted the sensitive factors of India's economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected in the India-US trade deal.
The Union Minister said that MSMEs, the country's engineering sector and sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods and marine goods will all get numerous opportunities.
The Minister said that sensitive factors of India's economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected in the trade deal.
"PM Modi has always championed both the agriculture and dairy sectors, safeguarding their interests and working tirelessly to ensure a bright future and ample opportunities for the people in this sector. I am pleased that the entire country understands and appreciates this, and it resonates deeply with them. The sensitive factors of India's economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected," he said.
"We have seen reports from across the country; there is widespread enthusiasm. All those involved in India's exports, those connected to India's technology sector, those who want to bring modern technology to India or become part of global supply chains and global value chains, those who want to establish global capability centers, and those who want to invest in various sectors, especially labor-intensive ones that provide employment to millions of people - all are excited by this," he added.
Goldman Sachs has also flagged a positive macroeconomic outlook for India following the conclusion of the US-India trade deal.
Assessing the growth impact, Goldman Sachs said, "we estimate an incremental boost of around 0.2pp of GDP (annualized), if the new lower tariffs are enforced."
The estimate is based on India's goods exports exposure of roughly 4% of GDP to US final demand and a goods export demand elasticity of ~0.7.
Reflecting these factors, Goldman Sachs said, "overall, we raise our CY26 real GDP growth forecast by 20bp to 6.9% yoy." (ANI)