​​​​​​​New Delhi, February 16: India is expanding its sourcing of precious metals, diversifying away from the UAE and increasingly purchasing gold and silver from the United States, a senior official revealed. This shift is expected to help lower metal prices and reduce India’s trade surplus with the US.

The US is a global hub for trading precious metals, including significant exports of gold (both raw and scrap) and silver. Recent data highlights billions of dollars in trade, with major recipients including Canada, India, and the UK. Exports to these markets include gold, silver, and various jewelry forms.

In addition to its precious metal trade, India exports agricultural products worth $2.8 billion to the US and imports goods worth $1.5 billion, creating a $1.3 billion surplus in non-marine agricultural trade. The official emphasized that imported agricultural products must adhere to India’s biosecurity standards, with genetically modified (GM) foods prohibited. Certain agricultural imports from the US are also subject to Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs).

The India-US interim trade agreement is poised to boost India’s data centre industry. By reducing operational costs, facilitating technology access, and encouraging investment, the agreement promises to act as a catalyst. It particularly impacts the high import duties on enterprise GPU servers (formerly ranging from 20–28%), which had made setting up data centres in India costlier compared to hubs like Singapore. The tariff reduction is expected to lower the cost of establishing GPU-ready data centres by around 14%.

According to an official statement, the interim India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement delivers comprehensive tariff rationalization, zero-duty access across numerous product categories, enhanced digital and technology cooperation, and safeguards for India’s farmers, MSMEs, and domestic industries.

With India’s total exports to the US reaching $86.35 billion in 2024, the agreement significantly enhances access to critical sectors, including textiles, leather, gems and jewelry, agriculture, machinery, home décor, pharmaceuticals, and technology. Under the agreement, tariffs on $30.94 billion worth of exports have been reduced from 50% to 18%, while tariffs on another $10.03 billion have been eliminated entirely, granting Indian goods a competitive edge in the US market.