India and the United States will significantly increase trade in technology products, including graphics processing units (GPUs) and other goods used in data centre infrastructure, the two countries announced on Saturday.
Both sides will also work to expand joint technology cooperation as part of the framework for an interim agreement on reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade, according to a joint statement.
As part of the interim trade arrangement, India has agreed to eliminate restrictive import licensing procedures that delay market access for, or impose quantitative restrictions on, US information and communication technology (ICT) goods, the White House said in a statement.
“For the purposes of enhancing ease of compliance with applicable technical regulations, the United States and India intend to discuss their respective standards and conformity assessment procedures for mutually agreed sectors,” the Donald Trump administration said.
The inclusion of GPUs and data centre infrastructure in the interim framework comes at a time when India is positioning itself as a major data centre hub, particularly for artificial intelligence companies. To support this objective, the Union government has announced tax breaks extending up to 2047 for foreign companies setting up new data centres in India in the Union Budget for 2026–27.
“Until now, high import duties of 20–28 per cent on enterprise GPU servers have significantly eroded India’s global competitiveness, making GPU-as-a-service pricing nearly 40 per cent higher than peer hubs such as Singapore and the UAE. Any move towards duty rationalisation can reduce the cost of setting up GPU-ready data centres by approximately 14 per cent, unlocking large-scale investments in AI infrastructure across the country,” industry body Bharat Digital Infrastructure Association said.
