White House softens language, revises key clauses in India–US interim trade deal factsheet

The White House has quietly updated its official factsheet on the recently announced interim trade agreement between India and the United States, amending several aspects of the document that outline key terms of the pact. 

These changes adjust how the deal’s commitments are portrayed and clarify what India and the US have agreed on as they move toward a broader trade framework. 

As per reports, one of the most notable revisions in the factsheet is the removal of “certain pulses” from the list of agricultural products on which India would eliminate or reduce tariffs. And in its earlier version, the document had included pulses such as lentils and dry beans among products benefiting from tariff liberalisation; this reference has been dropped in the updated text, though other food items like tree nuts, soybean oil and fruits remain on the tariff list. 

“India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products,” says the updated fact sheet.

The language surrounding India’s proposed $500 billion purchase of American goods has also been softened. The original factsheet stated that India was “committed” to buying over $500 billion worth of US products, including energy, technology and agricultural items. In the revised version, this has been changed to say India “intends” to make such purchases, and the explicit mention of agricultural goods has been omitted. 

Another important edit concerns digital trade provisions. The earlier draft noted that India would remove its digital services taxes and negotiate robust bilateral digital trade rules. The updated factsheet no longer asserts that India will remove digital taxes, instead focusing solely on negotiating digital trade rules with the United States, indicating that some aspects of digital taxation remain subject to ongoing discussions. 

These revisions come in the context of an interim trade framework finalised after nearly a year of negotiations between New Delhi and Washington.