U.S. trade deal: India targetting July 8 deadline but can extend to Aug. 1 if deal specifics don’t suit

The August 1 deadline for U.S. tariffs is for countries that have received letters from U.S. President Donald Trump, and so India is still operating under the July 8 deadline, according to Indian government sources, who added that a mini deal with the US could be announced “in a day or two”. However, they also said that India will not push ahead if the deal specifics do not suit India.

Mr. Trump, too, on Tuesday (July 8, 2025) said the U.S. was “close to making a deal with India”.

Midnight on July 8 marks the end of the 90-day pause Mr. Trump had announced on his April 2 ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs of as much as 40% on other countries. Under the April 2 system, which would come back into force unless a deal with the US is finalised, tariffs on Indian imports would be 26%.

Mr. Trump has already sent letters to 14 countries imposing higher tariffs in a bid to address the US’ trade deficit with them. These countries so far include Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Tunisia, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Serbia, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar.

The new tariffs would come into force from August 1, later than the earlier July 9 date. 

Deadline pressure

“The August 1 deadline is for countries that have been sent the letters,” a government official told The Hindu. “India has not been sent a letter, and we are still working to finalise the deal, so the July 8-9 deadline is still what we are operating under.”

This was confirmed by another official aware of the trade negotiation proceedings, who said the deal could materialise by the night of July 8, or “in a day or two”. However, this second source also said that India could use the expanded August 1 window “if the deal specifics do not suit us”.

Mr. Trump on Tuesday (July 8, 2025) told reporters in Washington that, in the context of trade deals, the U.S. had “spoken to everybody”.

“We have made some deals, but for the most part we are going to send a letter,” he said. “We’ve made a deal with the United Kingdom, we’ve made a deal with China, we are close to making a deal with India. Others we met with and we don’t think we are going to be able to make a deal, so we just sent them a letter.”

Deal dynamics

A team of Indian negotiators led by Special Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Rajesh Agrawal returned from the U.S. last week, following their second trip there. A team from the U.S. has also visited India twice in the last few months. 

According to sources, India has placed its final proposals before the U.S. and now the U.S. has to decide whether to accept the deal or not. India, for its part, will not further amend its proposals for the mini deal.  

As The Hindu has reported before, the main issues holding up a deal between India and the US continue to be genetically-modified (GM) crops and dairy.

The US is pushing India to allow the import of GM products such as soybean meal and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for animal feed. DDGS is a by-product made during ethanol production. India has not been inclined towards GM crops even produced domestically, let alone imported.

Another demand is for India to allow the import of cow milk from the US, which India has been resisting.