Indian American community leaders, organizations and think tanks applauded the announcement February 2, 2026, of an imminent trade deal between Washington and New Delhi that brings down tariffs on Indian goods and could herald a return to normal bilateral relations after months of tension.
“This agreement is a great relief for India and good news for the United States. The reduction of tariffs to 18 percent is most welcome relief to India and its economy. And at the same time, US can see its exports with India increase,” said Padma Shri recipient Dr. Sudhir Parikh, chairman of Parikh Worldwide Media/ITV Gold. “Hopefully the Ts will be crossed and the Is will be dotted soon between these two great democracies with the arrival of India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar,” he added. EAM S. Jaishankar arrived in D.C. February 2, 2026.
“It’s a big breakthrough. It happened because the two leaders spoke. But also a lot of credit must go to newly appointed Ambassador Sergio Gor to India. He has the ear of the President, and this agreement comes within a month of his reaching India,” said M.R. Rangaswami, founder of IndiaSpora, an advocacy organization based in California. “We are very excited that everything seems to be back to normal and we can move forward.”
The US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) welcomed the agreement, saying, “The reduction of India’s reciprocal tariff from 25% to 18% marks an important and positive first step. While the agreement’s specifics are pending, today’s announcement signals strong political will on both sides to move toward a comprehensive U.S.–India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) that addresses tariffs, market access, non-tariff barriers, and other trade-related issues across a wide range of sectors.”
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Describing it as a “constructive” momentum the USISPF expressed optimism about the future, and committed to helping expand bilateral trade to the $500 billion target.
Wendy Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, called the announcement of the trade deal, as still “light on details.” “The announcement is certainly a relief to our Indian partners, who have faced some of the highest tariff rates of any partner,” said Cutler, the former Acting Deputy US Trade Representative. “It will help clear the pathway for the U.S. and India to work cooperatively on other pressing matters concerning critical minerals, technology cooperation, and supply chain resiliency.”
Reducing the U.S. reciprocal tariff for India to 18%, gives Indian exporters “a slight edge in the U.S. market over its ASEAN competitors who have secured 19-20% tariffs,” Cutler pointed out.