WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – The United States and India on Friday released a framework for an interim trade agreement that the countries said affirms their commitment to negotiations towards a broader bilateral trade deal.
“The United States and India will promptly implement this framework and work towards finalizing the Interim Agreement with a view to concluding a mutually beneficial BTA consistent with the roadmap agreed in the Terms of Reference,” the countries said in a joint statement.
The interim trade agreement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a deal with India on Monday to slash U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50% in exchange for India halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers.
Washington and New Delhi are expected to sign a formal trade deal in March, after which India will lower tariffs on U.S. goods, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
Trump announced the deal on social media following a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that India would now buy oil from the U.S. and potentially Venezuela.
Also on Friday, Trump signed an executive order rescinding a punitive 25% duty on all imports from India over its purchases of Russian oil.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Ismail Shakil; editing by Michelle Nichols)
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