Agreements on oil, computer chips will help smooth the way for US-India trade deal, says minister

INDIA'S trade minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday (February 8) that diversifying oil sources and agreeing to buy technology products including computer chips from the United States will help the two countries finally reach a trade deal.

The United States and India moved closer to a trade pact on Friday (February 6), releasing an interim framework that would lower tariffs, reshape energy ties and deepen economic cooperation as both countries seek to realign global supply chains.

While Indian oil companies made the decisions about where to source their supplies, Goyal said, it was also in India's strategic interests to buy from the United States.

The U.S.-India statement on the trade framework did not mention Russian oil, but President Donald Trump rescinded his 25% tariffs on Indian goods, imposed over Russian oil purchases, because, he said, New Delhi had "committed to stop directly or indirectly" importing Russian oil.

New Delhi has not formally announced plans to halt Russian oil imports.

India became the top buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Goyal also said "America has very good capabilities and capacity to support the Indian economy with high quality at competitive prices" when it comes to data centres, AI and quantum computing capabilities.

Friday's statement confirmed that India will purchase US$500 billion in U.S. goods over a five-year period, including technology products like graphics processing units, typically used for AI applications, and other goods used in data centres.