As relations between India and the United States took a nosedive over President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, a US team’s planned visit to India later this month has been called off, reports said on Sunday, quoting government sources.
The team was scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on August 25 for the next round of bilateral trade negotiations.
"US Trade team not coming to India for the next round of trade negotiations. The US team was scheduled to visit India on 25th August for the 6th round of negotiations," the government sources were quoted as saying by ANI news agency.
Some reports, meanwhile, claimed that the talks are most likely to be rescheduled.
Both India and the US have already held five rounds of negotiations, with the last round of talks held in Washington DC from July 14-18. The talks were stalled over disagreement on opening India's vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases.
#WATCH | Delhi: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan says, "The whole country was apprehensive, tariff...You know how much land they hold: 10,000 hectares, 15,000 hectares. Meanwhile, our farmers have land ranging from one acre to three acres, with many having just… pic.twitter.com/WvV7lQWGR6
— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2025
Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal, however, said the bilateral trade negotiations with the US are still going on.
“Bilateral deliberations are happening at different levels. One is at the negotiating team's level. Another one happens at the minister's level. Third, happens at the diplomatic level, and we also engage with different industries of the US, companies and everybody to look into their issues. So this negotiation is happening across various channels,” he told ANI.
India and the US aim to conclude the first tranche of the BTA by fall 2025 and have set a target to double their trade to USD 500 billion by 2030.
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— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2025
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The cancellation of the US team’s visit, at least for now, has dashed hopes of some relief before the August 27 deadline for the additional tariff on Indian goods kicks in.
Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on India, taking the total levy on Indian goods to the US to 50 per cent.
Trump claimed that India's imports of Russian oil, directly or indirectly, pose an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States.
India has termed the US move “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable” and said New Delhi will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests. The Ministry of External Affairs said the country is being unfairly singled out for buying Russian oil while the US and European Union continue to purchase goods from Russia.
