US revises its India trade deal fact sheet, drops 'certain pulses', Pg1

Key Highlights:

• The US revised its fact sheet on the interim India-US trade agreement on February 9, 2026, modifying key claims.
• The revised fact sheet removed the reference to "certain pulses" regarding tariff cuts by India.
• The phrase "India commits" to purchasing $500 billion worth of US products was changed to "India intends".
• The section on digital services taxes was entirely removed from the updated fact sheet.
• In FY 2024-25, India imported $45.62 billion in American goods and exported $86.51 billion to the US.
• India's pulses imports in the first nine months of 2025-26 stood at $2.53 billion, a 33% decrease from the previous year.

Detailed Insights:

• The initial US fact sheet led to opposition protests and concerns among Indian farmers regarding potential impacts on domestic markets.
• While the joint statement did not mention pulses, market access to pulses is reportedly part of the trade deal, though the extent is unclear.
• India imports about a fifth of its yearly pulses consumption, mainly from Canada, Russia, Brazil, Myanmar, and African nations.
• The removal of the section on digital services taxes raises concerns about India potentially refraining from imposing "equalisation levy-style" taxes on American tech companies in the future.
• Data localisation, the practice of storing data within a country's borders, is a key aspect of data sovereignty that India should not concede in trade pacts.
• The $500 billion target for Indian purchases of American products is not legally binding, as private companies, not governments, place the orders.
• The Samyukta Kisan Morcha announced a nationwide general strike on February 12, 2026, in response to the trade deal.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Digital Services Tax: A tax on revenue earned by digital companies operating in a country but headquartered elsewhere.
• Data Localisation: The practice of storing and processing data on servers physically located within the country where it was generated.
• Equalisation Levy: A tax to equalize the tax treatment of resident and non-resident e-commerce companies.