Indications of a phased elimination of customs duties on US agricultural products

12-Feb-2026 05:07 PM

New Delhi. The central government has stated that customs duties on several agricultural and intermediate products imported from the United States will be reduced in phases over the next 10 years. Under the trade agreement between India and the United States, not all products will be made duty-free at once. This will provide sufficient time for Indian farmers and traders/entrepreneurs to adjust.

The products included in this category include coconut oil, castor oil, and cottonseed oil, modified starch, pesticides and their components, and plants and their components, among others. Both countries will gradually reduce import duties on various products.

A government statement stated that certain intermediate products used in India's processing industry are currently imported from several countries around the world. If these are imported from the United States, the process of reducing tariffs on them will continue in a phased manner over the next 10 years. The United States will also adopt a similar tariff reduction approach on imports of several Indian products.

The tariff reduction or elimination offers are categorized into several categories, including immediate tariff elimination, phased elimination (over the next 10 years), duty reduction, margin of preference, and the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) system.

According to the statement, the additional tariff concession framework will ensure that products worth $1.04 billion under the elimination category receive market access with zero reciprocal duty. Under this, the United States has assured zero reciprocal duty on agricultural products worth $1.035 billion.

GM food products, soybean meal, corn, other grains, and dairy and poultry products have been fully protected and are not included in the tariff concession category. This will provide relief to Indian farmers.