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Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in 11 offices, was ranked number 1 in the category “Most innovative North American law firms: New working models” by The Financial Times and was 1 of 7 firms shortlisted for The American Lawyer’s inaugural Legal Services Innovation Award. The firm has been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Legal Technology Trailblazer and featured by Bloomberg for its innovative service delivery models, which drive accuracy and predictability. The firm’s commitment to innovation is embodied in Thompson Hine SmartPaTHTM – a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. For more information, please visit ThompsonHine.com and ThompsonHine.com/SmartPaTH.

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On February 6, 2026, President Donald Trump issued both an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/02/modifying-duties-to-address-threats-to-the-united-states-by-the-government-of-the-russian-federation-04b2/">Executive Order</a> (&ldquo;EO&rdquo;) and a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2026/02/united-states-india-joint-statement/">joint statement</a> announcing a &ldquo;framework for an Interim Agreement&rdquo; with India that reduces U.S. tariffs on imports of Indian products, lowering the overall rate from 50% to 25% with a further reduction to 18% to be &ldquo;promptly&rdquo; implemented.&nbsp; Effective February 7, 2026, the first tranche of tariff relief stems from the EO signed by President Trump indefinitely suspending <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/11/2025-15267/addressing-threats-to-the-united-states-by-the-government-of-the-russian-federation">EO 14329</a>, which imposed an additional 25% tariff on India beginning August 27, 2025 (see <a href="https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2025/08/president-trump-announces-additional-tariffs-on-india-for-russian-federation-oil-purchases/">Update of August 7, 2025</a>).&nbsp; President Trump issued EO 14329 in response to India&rsquo;s direct or indirect importation of Russian oil, alleging the purchases improperly propped up Russia&rsquo;s ongoing efforts to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.&nbsp; The second tranche of duty relief stems from the framework for an Interim Agreement with India, which will reduce the 25% IEEPA-based reciprocal tariff rate on imports from India to 18%.&nbsp; The joint statement, however, does not specify an effective date for this reduction.&nbsp; Since April 5, 2025, India has been subject to a 10% reciprocal &ldquo;baseline&rdquo; rate under <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/07/2025-06063/regulating-imports-with-a-reciprocal-tariff-to-rectify-trade-practices-that-contribute-to-large-and">EO 14257</a> (see <a href="https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2025/04/trump-announces-reciprocal-tariffs-on-over-60-countries/">Update of April 3, 2025</a>), plus a 15% country-specific reciprocal rate under <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/06/2025-15010/further-modifying-the-reciprocal-tariff-rates">EO 14326</a> since August 7, 2025 (see <a href="https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2025/08/president-trump-announces-implementation-of-reciprocal-tariffs-under-the-ieepa/">Update of August 1, 2025</a>).
Under the Interim Agreement framework, the United States has also agreed to remove tariffs imposed pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion of 1962 on aluminum, steel, and copper, but only as applied to certain aircraft and aircraft parts from India (see <a href="https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2025/06/section-232-aluminum-and-steel-tariffs-increased-to-50-except-for-uk-significant-changes-made-to-calculating-and-stacking-of-tariffs/">Update of June 5, 2025</a> (aluminum and steel) and <a href="https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2025/07/president-trump-announces-50-tariff-on-u-s-imports-of-copper/">Update of July 30, 2025</a> (copper)).&nbsp;
India will also receive a preferential tariff rate quota for automotive parts otherwise subject to the 25% Section 232 tariff on automobiles and certain auto parts (see <a href="https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2025/03/president-trump-announces-section-232-tariffs-of-25-on-imports-of-automobiles-and-certain-auto-parts/">Update of March 27, 2025</a>), and &ldquo;negotiated outcomes&rdquo; intended to mitigate the effects of a potential future Section 232 tariff on pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients (see <a href="https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2025/04/commerce-initiates-section-232-national-security-investigation-of-imports-of-pharmaceuticals-and-pharmaceutical-ingredients/">Update of April 15, 2025</a>).
The joint statement highlights several other &ldquo;key terms&rdquo; of the Interim Agreement, including:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>a commitment by India to eliminate or reduce tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and a wide range of U.S. food and agricultural products;</li>
<li>a commitment by India to purchase $500 billion in U.S. energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next 5 years;</li>
<li>a commitment by both countries to address non-tariff barriers affecting bilateral trade; and</li>
<li>a commitment by both countries to address barriers to digital trade.</li>
</ul>
Despite these commitments, the joint statement did not make the text of the full Interim Agreement public nor did it specify when the final text of the trade deal will be completed.

core/freeform

SmarTrade

Associate

Aaron C. Mandelbaum

Partner

David M. Schwartz

Senior Legislative and Regulatory Policy Advisor

Scott E. Diamond

International Trade

President Trump Lowers IEEPA-Based Tariffs on India and Announces Framework for Bilateral Interim Trade Agreement