When US President Donald Trump declared April 2, 2025 as “Liberation Day” for American trade policy, few countries felt the tremors as immediately, and as sharply, as India. What followed was not a single negotiation cycle, but a year-long test of strategy, endurance and economic resilience for New Delhi, as tariffs, geopolitics, court rulings and supply-chain shocks collided in unpredictable ways. By the time India and the United States announced an interim trade deal on February 2, 2026, it was clear this had not been a straight path.