India to hold off on US trade deal amid new probe, sources say

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

March 13, 2026 4:13 AM EDT Updated 3 hours ago


NEW DELHI, March 13 (Reuters) - India will hold off on signing a trade deal with the United ​States for several months, four Indian sources said, as fresh investigations by President Donald Trump’s administration into what it calls excess industrial capacity ‌among trading partners add new friction after an early understanding, opens new tab last month.

New Delhi had initially expected to sign an interim deal in March, followed by a full deal later, after Trump agreed in early February to cut punishing U.S. tariffs on Indian imports in return for commitments including halting Russian oil imports, lowering duties on U.S. goods and pledging to buy $500 billion worth of American products.

That ​timeline could now slip by several months, the sources said, although U.S. officials say they expect India to honour its commitments. The Indian sources, all ​government officials with direct knowledge of the matter or briefed on it, declined to be named because they were not authorised ⁠to speak to media.

A spokesperson from India's trade ministry denied any hold off in bilateral engagement. "It is reiterated that the two sides remain engaged for a mutually beneficial ​trade agreement," the spokesperson added, without offering details on formal signing of the deal. A White House official said the U.S. was continuing to work with India on finalising ​a deal.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-hold-off-us-trade-deal-amid-new-probe-sources-say-2026-03-13/

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REFERENCES

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143620572
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143630870

[samsingh]

1. India probably has more willing trading partners than us

[BumRushDaShow]

2. They made some deals with China recently.

[jfz9580m]

4. Could you please post a link BumRushDaShow? Thanks

I would like to see the news story.
I have been scanning the news very casually and missing a lot. I am generally wary of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia etc.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. There was some activity late last summer

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143521548

I saw some articles recently when searching for something else related so will need to dig for them!

[jfz9580m]

6. Thanks :).nt

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Found a couple more that I had seen

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/11/india-china-investments-fdi-ties-business.html

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/india-investment-easing-gives-limited-opening-to-china-firms/ar-AA1Yps3e

I think this is what I saw because it happened within the past couple days!

[jfz9580m]

3. I was pleased that India recently signed a deal with the EU

I am Indian and fond of the US, since I went to school there. But in this regulatory environment, with good science/concerns about climate change/privacy etc just thrown to the winds by most states, Western Europe alarms me the least.

[Spazito]

7. Canada has just signed a major trade agreement with India on March 2nd

Carney signs deals worth billions in diplomatic breakthrough with India's Modi

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Indian counterpart announced Monday what they're calling a "new partnership," a series of multimillion-dollar deals and a commitment to sign a free trade agreement by year's end as the two look to turn the page on years of frosty bilateral relations marked by allegations of Indian foreign interference.

In a statement to reporters after a one-on-one meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the colonial-era Hyderabad House in Delhi's diplomatic core, Carney said Canada is going all-in on diversifying trade. The two countries have set a goal to more than double two-way trade to some $70 billion a year by 2030, he said, as Canada continues a push to reduce its dependence on the U.S.

Carney framed this new course as not just a return to how things were but rather an ambitious revisioning of what the two Commonwealth countries can do together in an uncertain era marked by instability. At the centre of this more robust relationship will be a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement — a free trade deal — that Carney said the two sides hope to sign by December, which will offer Canada exports relief from Indian tariffs that are quite high on some goods.

snip

That paved the way for what Carney and Modi signed today: five memorandums of understanding expanding Canada-India partnership across energy and critical minerals, technology and AI, talent, culture and defence worth $5.5 billion in total.

Perhaps the most significant is a $2.6 billion deal between the Government of India and Saskatoon-based Cameco to supply nearly 22 million pounds of uranium for nuclear energy generation from 2027 to 2035. That's a big boon for Saskatchewan, which sits on one of the world's largest reserves of high-grade uranium.

more

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-modi-canada-india-deal-9.7110805