India and the United States expect to sign a formal trade agreement in March, after which New Delhi will lower tariffs on American goods, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, announcing the first official timeline for the deal, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
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The two countries will issue a joint statement within 4-5 days, after which Washington will reduce tariffs on Indian exports from 50% to 18%. India, in turn, will buy about $500 billion worth of American goods over the next five years, including $70-80 billion worth of Boeing aircraft, Goyal said.
Under the deal announced on Monday, US President Donald Trump is cutting US tariffs on Indian goods in exchange for New Delhi ending purchases of Russian oil, lowering tariffs, and buying $500 billion worth of American goods.
"A formal agreement on this deal will take 30-45 days and will be signed in March," Goyal told reporters in New Delhi.
Goyal said India would increase purchases of energy, aircraft, and chips from the United States. He added that aircraft orders placed or ready to be placed, along with engines and other parts, would amount to about $100 billion.
Last month, Tata Group-owned Air India said it had nearly 200 aircraft on order from US aircraft manufacturer Boeing, while another, smaller airline, Akasa Air, said it had orders for 226 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Indian stocks rose after Monday's announcement of the India-US deal, as the agreement removed uncertainty about the future of relations between the two allies.
However, India's main opposition party is pressing the government to provide details on the deal, as there are concerns about how open the agricultural sector has become.
On Tuesday, officials from both sides said India would grant the United States somewhat limited access to its agricultural market but would maintain key safeguards.