India-U.S. trade deal unlikely until competitor countries probed, tariffed

…trade ministerial that starts on September 30. These developments appear to be consistent with Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal’s remarks at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 earlier this month. Mr. Agrawal had said that India operates largely on an MFN (Most Favoured Nation) tariff basis, while the U.S. operates on an executive tariff basis, and that a trade agreement would require an architecture with differentials and preferential market access structure for India. The ‘301s’ are part of how the U.S. government is working around the February 2026 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that President Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs were an unlawful application of the International…