“The U.S. has reiterated that India maintains 'high' import duties on a range of goods, including agricultural products, pharmaceuticals and alcoholic beverages, along with various non-tariff barriers.”

“India has always maintained that its duties are in compliance with the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).”

“According to trade experts, most of the issues are repeats of earlier reports, and a few have been resolved already.”

“India maintains 'very high' basic customs duties on drug formulations, including life-saving drugs and finished medicines listed on the World Health Organisation's list of essential medicines.”

“The report, however, stated that in its 2026 budget, India has reduced applied tariffs on a range of products across multiple sectors, including lifesaving medicines, raw materials and components for electric vehicle and mobile phone battery manufacturing, critical minerals such as lithium-ion battery scrap, cobalt powder, lead and zinc, certain electronic components, mobile phone parts and other industrial inputs.”

“India has imposed import bans, restrictions, licensing requirements on certain goods, mandatory Quality Control Orders (QCOs), customs barriers, price control on medical devices, and mandatory domestic testing and certification requirements for equipment.”

“The United States has concerns that BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) standards are not fully aligned with international standards, and India has not demonstrated that international standards would be ineffective or inappropriate; often do not provide a means of establishing conformity or include significantly burdensome requirements; and lack clear timelines for transition periods and license validity.”