India, March 7 -- India responded cautiously on Friday to US President Donald Trump's threat to hit trade partners with reciprocal tariffs from April 2, saying the two sides are negotiating a multi-sector trade deal to tackle tariff and non-tariff barriers and increase market access.

The first official response from the Indian side to Trump's plans for reciprocal tariffs on every country that taxes US imports, provided by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, was silent on the steps India will take if the US president goes ahead with his threat.

India and the US announced plans to negotiate a mutually beneficial, multi-sector bilateral trade agreement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in February. C...