March 17, 2026
NEW DELHI – India has put on hold the signing of a trade agreement with the United States in view of the recent US Supreme Court ruling that struck down the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the country’s President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said on Monday.
Addressing a press briefing in New Delhi, Agarwal informed that the deal was to be signed in March but the signing will now take place once the United States finalises a new architecture of global tariffs.
“US deal was to be signed in March. IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs don’t exist per se due to US Supreme Court rulings now. Under Article 122, tariffs of 10% exist globally now. Any deal that India signs will be signed against a tariff structure. US is trying to recreate a tariff architecture globally. Once US creates that, it will be better to sign then. Actual signing will be done when the new architecture of tariffs globally is done by the US,” the Commerce Secretary said.
US President Donald Trump had announced a trade deal with India earlier this year. Under the deal, the US would impose 18 per cent tariffs on India, with the White House claiming that New Delhi would charge almost zero tariffs.
The US also removed the additional 25 per cent levy on Indian imports after Prime Minister Narendra Modi purportedly agreed to stop purchasing Russian Federation oil.
The deal sparked criticism from the Opposition parties as they claimed that PM Modi was “pressurised” to agree to an unfair deal. The Opposition argued that the US was set to benefit more from the deal than India.
They also questioned the government’s decision to allow the US to enter India’s agriculture sector. The government, however, hit back saying India’s dairy and agriculture sectors have been protected in the deal.
The development to put the signing of the India-US trade deal on hold also comes amid the raging conflict in the Middle East. With the supply of energy products disrupted due to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump has also given India and some other countries permission to purchase Russian crude oil for 30 days.
When asked about India’s purchase of Russian oil, Agarwal said that India continues to source oil from Russia and noted an increase in the volume as well.
“We are buying Russian oil. There has been an increase in buying from Russia,” he added.