New Delhi, February 16: India has already increased its purchase of oil and gas from the United States to meet its energy needs. Now, the government plans to change its import strategy for precious metals. According to a senior official, India is preparing to buy more gold and silver from the USA instead of the UAE.
This move is expected to lower the prices of gold and silver and may also reduce the trade surplus with the United States. The USA is a major global hub for gold and silver trade, exporting large quantities of both metals, including scrap and waste. Recent data shows that the USA exports billions of dollars worth of precious metals to countries like Canada, India, and the UK, including raw, refined, and jewelry forms of gold and silver.
India exports approximately $2.8 billion worth of agricultural products to the USA while importing about $1.5 billion. This results in a trade surplus of around $1.3 billion in non-maritime agricultural products for India.
The official noted that any agricultural products imported into India must meet biosecurity standards, and genetically modified (GM) foods are not permitted in the country. Some agricultural products imported from the USA are also subject to tariff rate quotas (TRQ).
The interim trade agreement between India and the USA could present significant opportunities for India’s data center industry, providing access to advanced technology, increased investment, and reduced operational costs. Previously, import duties on enterprise GPU servers ranged from 20% to 28%, making it more expensive to establish data centers in India compared to countries like Singapore. The reduction in duties is expected to lower the cost of establishing GPU-ready data centers by about 14%.
According to an official statement, the India-USA bilateral trade agreement includes comprehensive tariff reductions, zero-duty access for various product categories, increased digital and technological cooperation, and a balanced framework to protect farmers, MSMEs, and domestic industries.
In 2024, India’s total exports to the USA reached $86.35 billion. This agreement is set to benefit industries such as textiles, leather, gems and jewelry, agriculture, machinery, home decor, pharmaceuticals, and technology. Under the agreement, tariffs on $30.94 billion worth of exports have been reduced from 50% to 18%, while tariffs on $10.03 billion worth of exports have been eliminated entirely. This will allow a large volume of Indian products to enter the US market with lower or zero tariffs, significantly enhancing their competitiveness.
Deependra Singh Chundawat is a Senior Sub-Editor at Udaipur Kiran, specializing in a wide range of technology topics including mobile phones, applications, gaming, PCs, and wearables. Along with covering the latest tech news, he also creates engaging web stories. Passionate about emerging technologies, he stays up to date with the newest trends and enjoys reading and writing about the latest mobile launches and digital innovations.