India-US trade deal: Will August 1 tariff deadline be extended? Here's what you need to know

As India prepares to host a US delegation for the sixth round of trade talks in August, the Trump administration has issued another clarification about the August 1 deadline, after which tariffs payments will begin.

When asked about a possible deadline extension, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday explained that August 1 was the final deadline, reiterating that there would be “no extensions, no more grace periods”.

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“August 1, the tariffs are set. They'll go into place. Customs will start collecting the money, and off we go," he added, echoing a July 8 announcement by US President Donald Trump on Truth Social, prior to a slew of tariff letters sent to various nations.

More than 20 nearly identical letters were sent to various nations, ranging from 15 per cent to 50 per cent on key exports. India was not among these nations, as it is was working on a bilateral trade agreement with Washington—on which efforts are ongoing.

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Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday stated that the trade talks were “making fast progress”, with both sides looking to finalise the first tranche of the agreement by fall (September-October) as per a PTI report.

Issues related to agriculture and automobiles were part of the agenda in the fifth round of negotiations. Matters related to ways to deal with non-market economies, and SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies) also came up in the discussion.

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India continues to remain steadfast against US demands for duty concessions on agricultural and dairy products: one of the primary areas of discussion expected in the sixth round of negotiations.

According to Arvind Panagariya, the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, a successful India-US trade agreement would even “conveniently” pave the way for an India-EU trade deal, as per another PTI report.   

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