India tested, from U.S. sanctions to one-sided trade deal Premium

The repercussions of the trade deal with the United States could inflict the greatest damage on India’s principles of strategic autonomy, multi-alignment and multipolarity

Despite all the fanfare and furore in Parliament, it may be premature to celebrate or criticise the India-United States Bilateral Trade Agreement, simply because it has not yet been forged. Yet, last week’s announcement of a “Framework for an Interim Agreement on reciprocal trade” (where the agreement itself is expected to be announced in the next few weeks), follows a procedure and a path that should be disquieting for all. While the baseline objective for the Narendra Modi government must be to enhance the Indian economy, and ease the unbearable burden that the U.S. Trump administration had imposed on it through 50% tariffs, the question it must ask is this: how, and at what cost? The Indian government must consider if this will be the template for all other India-U.S. agreements, strategic, economic or defence in the future.

Every announcement on the deal thus far has been made by Washington unilaterally, with New Delhi racing to play catch-up. The first sign that the two countries had agreed on going ahead with negotiations that began in February 2025 came from a social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump on February 2, 2026. In it, he furnished several details of his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, all of which were incorporated into the Joint Statement and Executive Orders issued on February 6, 2026 — claims that Mr. Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil, and to buy “much more” oil from the U.S.; that India would reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the U.S. to “Zero” in return for 18% U.S. tariffs on Indian goods, and that Mr. Modi committed to “buy American” products to the tune of $500 billion.

Mr. Modi’s post that followed only divulged that the U.S. tariffs would be reduced. Four days later (U.S. time, 4 a.m.), Washington released the joint statement and two executive orders, on Russia and Iran, and subsequently a “Fact Sheet”. The Press Information Bureau released the joint statement a few hours later. The government has since refused to engage with the other documents in its public comments. But the entire manner of bringing out a “joint statement” unilaterally, begs this question. Who is calling the shots?

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