Washington/New Delhi: The White House has quietly altered its official brief on the proposed interim trade arrangement with India, making notable edits to language and removing certain references that were not part of the original joint statement issued by the two governments.
The development unfolded over a matter of hours. On February 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump released a joint statement outlining the contours of a preliminary trade understanding. Three days later, on February 9, the White House circulated a more detailed fact sheet expanding on the proposed terms. That document contained several specifics that either differed from or were absent in the earlier bilateral statement.
Within a day, the US administration revised that fact sheet.
One of the most prominent changes concerns India’s proposed purchases of American goods. The earlier version asserted that India would “commit” to acquiring $500 billion worth of US products. In the updated draft, the phrasing has been softened to state that India “intends” to make such purchases, a shift that signals less binding language.
References to India’s digital services tax have also been removed. The initial fact sheet suggested that New Delhi would scrap the levy, but the updated version omits any mention of this measure.
Agricultural trade, a politically sensitive area in India, has also seen adjustments. The earlier document included pulses among the US products India would import. That reference no longer appears in the revised text.
However, the amended fact sheet continues to speak of expanded market access for American farm goods beyond what was detailed in the February 6 joint statement. It indicates that India has agreed to lower or eliminate tariffs on various US industrial and agricultural products, listing items such as dried distillers’ grains, red sorghum, tree nuts, fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits.
In contrast, the joint statement had specified that imports of US red sorghum would be restricted to animal feed use — a condition not reflected in the White House summary.
The trade brief also recounts a phone conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi during which, according to the US side, Washington agreed to withdraw an additional 25 per cent tariff imposed on Indian goods. The document links this decision to India’s pledge to halt purchases of Russian oil. Subsequently, President Trump signed an Executive Order rolling back the extra duty and trimming the reciprocal tariff on India from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.
India, for its part, has consistently maintained that its energy procurement decisions are guided by national interest and security considerations.
The discrepancies between the joint statement and the evolving White House fact sheet, along with the speed at which corrections were introduced, are expected to draw scrutiny as both sides work toward a more comprehensive Bilateral Trade Agreement.
