The United States has revised its factsheet on the recently announced “historic trade deal” with India, removing references to pulses, softening language on the $500 billion purchase clause, and making several other changes.
After the two countries announced the agreement last week, the White House released a factsheet outlining what it described as the “path forward.” However, a revised version issued later reflects notable edits.
In the earlier document, Washington said India would “eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products,” including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fruits, certain pulses, soybean oil, wine, and spirits. The updated factsheet has dropped any mention of pulses.
Another major change concerns India’s proposed purchases from the US. The original text said India was “committed” to buying $500 billion worth of American goods. This has now been softened to “intend.”
Previously, the document stated: “India committed to buy more American products and purchase over $500 billion of US energy, information and communication technology, agricultural, coal, and other products.”
The revised version removes agricultural goods and reads: “India intends to buy more American products and purchase over $500 billion of US energy, information and communication technology, coal, and other products.”
The updated factsheet has also removed references to India scrapping its digital services tax. Earlier, it said India would “remove its digital services taxes” and negotiate bilateral digital trade rules. The new version only mentions India’s commitment to negotiate digital trade rules, omitting any reference to tax removal.
The interim trade agreement was reached after nearly a year of negotiations that began in February 2025. Under the framework, India is expected to benefit from tariff reductions from 50% to 18% on a range of exports, including textiles and garments, leather and footwear, plastic and rubber products, organic chemicals, home décor, handicrafts, and select machinery.
The deal was announced following a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, during which both leaders agreed on the structure of the interim agreement.
India and the US had held multiple rounds of talks in recent months after negotiations stalled over Washington’s decision to impose steep tariffs on Indian imports. A 25% duty was introduced in August, followed by additional levies, with the US alleging that India’s energy purchases were supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
