Trump Says India Offers to Remove All Tariffs on US Goods
President Donald Trump said India has offered to remove tariffs on US goods, as the Asian nation negotiates a deal to avoid higher import taxes.
Speaking Thursday at an event with business leaders in Qatar, Trump said the Indian government had “offered us a deal where they are willing to basically put no tariffs on us at all.”
Trump did not provide further details about New Delhi’s apparent offer, and the Indian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
India was one of the first countries to begin trade negotiations with the US after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House in February, with both sides agreeing to finalize the first phase of a bilateral deal by the fall. India’s trade minister is expected to meet with Trump administration officials in the US from May 17-20 for further negotiations.
Trump’s comments come days after India threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs in response to higher US duties on steel and aluminum, a sign that New Delhi may be adopting a more assertive approach in its trade negotiations with the White House. But trade talks are proceeding as planned, people familiar with the matter said. Some analysts in New Delhi said Trump’s remarks could indicate that India is close to a deal, or that the comments were a negotiating ploy by the White House.
“An India-U.S. trade deal may be on the cards,” said Ajay Srivastava, founder of the New Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Institute. “However, it must ensure strict reciprocity, with both sides removing tariffs equally.” Market reaction was relatively muted after Trump’s comments, with the rupee recouping some of its losses. The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 index rose 1.7% as of 2 p.m. ET.
Source: Bloomberg
