Rajya Sabha Commerce Committee 200th Report on India-US Trade Relations
The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, chaired by Ms. Dola Sen, MP, presented its 200th Report on 'Evaluation of India-US Trade Relations' to both Houses of Parliament on August 6, 2026. The report results from four meetings spanning 7 hours and 50 minutes that involved consultations with multiple government departments including Commerce, Finance, Fisheries, External Affairs, Heavy Industries, MSME, Textiles, Agriculture, and Skill Development, as well as stakeholders including APEDA, FIEO, CII, FICCI, banks, and financial institutions.
Core Recommendations and Bilateral Relations
The Committee recommends concluding the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement with the US at the earliest while ensuring adequate protection of India's interests. It calls for a time-bound roadmap to achieve the objectives of the Mission 500 initiative targeting $500 billion bilateral trade by 2030, focusing on promoting trade in goods and services, encouraging investment, strengthening cooperation in critical technologies under the TRUST framework, improving supply chain resilience, and addressing both tariff and non-tariff barriers faced by Indian exporters. The roadmap should explicitly focus on strategic utilization of domestic PLI schemes to enhance export infrastructure and scale cost-competitiveness against global supply shocks.
Current Trade Scenario and Sectoral Challenges
India's services exports to the US stood at $51.20 billion with 11.58% CAGR since 2020, while services imports reached $47.32 billion with 18.68% CAGR. Total services trade with the US has more than doubled from $40.53 billion in 2014 to $98.52 billion in 2024. The Committee notes concern that foreign taxes on Indian goods are changing too fast and unpredictably, with US tariffs increased substantially to 18% from the earlier 3% rate.
The report identifies significant sector-specific challenges: gems and jewellery exports crashed by 48% due to 2025 tariff measures; engineering goods, auto components, and automotive sectors face competitiveness issues; textiles including jute and cotton face declining demand; marine products face arbitrary anti-dumping and countervailing duties; and chemical products have faced significant export declines despite India's ₹7,580 crore trade surplus in chemicals with the US.
Sector-Specific Recommendations
For gems and jewellery, the Committee recommends securing tariff parity with global competitors like Switzerland, Canada, and Mexico, establishing India Jewellery Trade and Distribution Hubs in Hong Kong, Thailand, and UK, and creating a state-backed export invoice discounting window for MSMEs.
For textiles, it recommends establishing government-subsidized warehousing hubs in major US shipping entry points, creating emergency relief under RoSCTL to compensate MSME exporters for price reductions, and promoting technical textiles and man-made fibre products.
For marine products, the Committee recommends mandatory rollout of ICAR-CIFT developed Turtle Excluder Devices across all mechanized trawlers to secure NOAA certification and overturn the US ban on Indian wild-caught shrimp, while promoting domestic breeding of SPF broodstock and indigenous manufacturing of specialized feed.
For agriculture, the report suggests creating pre-clearance protocols with US customs and FDA to pre-test agricultural shipments at Indian ports, establishing automated Irradiation and Vapour Heat Treatment facilities near export hubs, and protecting Indian GI products like Basmati rice against misleading branding.
For chemicals, it recommends leveraging India's trade surplus to negotiate reduced tariffs, establishing specialized temperature-controlled storage units in overseas warehouses, and creating a National Essential Oils Excellence Centre for quality checks and GI tagging.
Institutional and Structural Recommendations
The Committee recommends establishing a dedicated bilateral institutional mechanism with US trade authorities to proactively resolve trade frictions before escalation, creating fast-tracked export corridors and automated customs clearance zones dedicated to US-bound trade, and formulating a dedicated framework for the digital economy focusing on cross-border data flows and IP protection.
For MSMEs across all sectors, the report recommends targeted financial subsidies, lower interest rates on export credits, technical guidance for compliance, easier access to testing facilities and quality certification, and specialized training programs for Industry 4.0 technologies including smart automation, robotics, and EV component manufacturing.
Emerging Areas and Future Cooperation
The Committee identifies emerging areas of cooperation including digital technologies, artificial intelligence, advanced communications, quantum technologies, and innovation ecosystems under the iCET and COMPACT frameworks. It recommends dedicated initiatives to enable MSME participation in digital technology partnerships and joint capacity-building programs for emerging technologies.
The report emphasizes the need to address structural challenges including logistics costs, infrastructure gaps, regulatory compliance, and access to affordable finance to position India as a preferred global manufacturing and supply chain hub, particularly in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, clean energy, critical minerals, and advanced manufacturing.