India is open to cutting tariffs on more than half of U.S. imports worth $23 billion in the first phase of a trade deal the two nations are negotiating, two government sources said, the biggest cut in years,

The South Asian nation is feeling the heat as the White House gears up to launch stiff reciprocal tariffs on April 2, what Trump has called “Liberation Day.”

The move, which would be one of India's most significant tariff reductions in years, seeks to minimise potential disruptions to its $66 billion worth of exports to the United States.

The US side wants negotiations broadly on sectors such as agricultural products, alcoholic beverages and automobiles, a source said.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to impose reciprocal tariffs from April 2 on various nations, causing alarm among Indian exporters. India has an "obvious expectation", a government source said, that the Trump administration could exempt it from reciprocal tariffs as the two nations continue talks on a bilateral trade pact.

A delegation of officials from the United States will visit India from March 25 to 29 for trade talks with Indian officials, a US embassy spokesperson said on Monday. Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch will lead the group.