White House Softens Stance on India-US Trade Deal: Pulses Dropped, $500 Billion Pledge Revised

The White House has made discreet but significant revisions to its fact sheet detailing the recently announced interim trade framework between the United States and India. Issued just one day after the initial version, the updated document aligns more closely with positions articulated by Indian officials and eases potential domestic political pressures in New Delhi.

In the original fact sheet, the administration stated that India had “committed” to purchasing more than $500 billion worth of American goods, encompassing categories such as energy, information and communication technology, agricultural products, coal, and others. The revised wording now indicates that India “intends” to buy more US products overall and to purchase over $500 billion in US energy, information and communication technology, coal, and additional items—explicitly excluding agricultural products from this reference.

A further adjustment removed “certain pulses” from the list of agricultural goods on which India would eliminate or reduce tariffs. The updated text states that India will cut or remove tariffs on all US industrial products and a broad array of US food and agricultural items, specifically naming dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and other products—without any mention of pulses.

The initial claim that India had agreed to “remove” its digital services tax has also been entirely eliminated. The new version omits this point and instead highlights ongoing discussions on digital trade regulations.

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These changes provide relief to the Modi administration amid sensitivities surrounding agricultural imports. Indian officials, including Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, have stressed that concessions remain limited and exclude vulnerable sectors like cereals and dairy. Goyal noted in recent briefings that certain pulses were never included in the agreement, while concessions on items such as DDGs and red sorghum—for use in animal feed—are modest and responsive to industry needs.

The revisions help counter criticism from opposition parties and farmer organizations, particularly with a nationwide strike looming. No official explanation has been provided by the White House for the edits, but the updated language more accurately reflects statements from Indian authorities following the trade framework’s announcement.