Indian agriculture sector must open up, says US Commerce Secretary

“It will require a different kind of thinking—big thinking,” he said. “The Indian market for agriculture has to open up. It can’t just stay closed. Now, how do you do that, and at what scale? Maybe you do quotas, maybe you set limits. You can be smarter when you have your most important trading partner on the other side of the table.”

Think tank Global Trade and Research Institute (GTRI), responding to Lutnick’s comments, said that while these proposals were framed as mutually beneficial, most serve US interests at the cost of India’s economic and strategic priorities.

“From pushing for a comprehensive trade agreement to demanding lower tariffs and greater market access, these suggestions could weaken India’s trade position if accepted uncritically. India’s response must be firm, data-driven, and aligned with national priorities to ensure balanced trade relations with the US,” GTRI said.

US President Donald Trump on Friday said that India has agreed to cut tariffs after being exposed for being restrictive from a trade point of view and for making it difficult for American companies to do business in India. “India charges massive tariffs; you can’t even sell anything into India. They are restrictive. They’ve agreed, by the way, that they want to cut their tariffs way down now, because somebody is finally exposing them for what they’ve done,” Trump said at a press briefing on Friday.

Under the Bilateral Trade Agreement, New Delhi plans to offer steep tariff concessions on US products in exchange for concessions on sweeping tariffs announced by the US, such as reciprocal tariffs set to take effect on April 2.