·
Donald
Trump expressed confidence that India and the U.S. will soon conclude a trade
deal.
·
He
highlighted his positive relationship with Narendra Modi, stating that both
countries are likely to reach an agreement.
·
A U.S.
delegation led by Brendan Lynch held several days of negotiations in New Delhi.
·
The
discussions focused on finalizing an interim bilateral trade agreement.
·
India's
Commerce Ministry stated that both countries remain committed to negotiating a
mutually beneficial trade arrangement.
·
During
the negotiations, the U.S. Trade Department proposed additional tariffs on
several countries over concerns regarding forced labour practices.
·
India
faces a proposed additional
tariff of 12.5% on exports to the United States under the
proposal.
·
The
Indian government noted that the tariff proposal is still under review.
·
The
final decision will be taken after consideration of public comments and
testimony by the U.S. authorities.
·
Despite
the tariff issue, discussions on a broader India-U.S. trade agreement are
continuing.
·
Trump
again criticized India's historically high import duties.
·
He
argued that India had long benefited from tariff imbalances in bilateral trade.
·
India
was among the first countries to begin trade negotiations with the U.S.
administration.
·
However,
a final agreement has yet to be concluded.
·
Both
countries agreed on the framework for an interim trade deal in February 2026.
·
The
agreement was initially expected to be finalized by March 2026.
·
Trade
discussions were complicated after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that many of
Trump's tariff measures were illegal.
·
The
ruling created uncertainty regarding the future tariff regime.
·
At one
stage, certain Indian exports faced tariffs of up to 50%.
·
These
were subsequently reduced to 18%
in February 2026 and later lowered to 10%
following the court ruling.
·
In
February 2026, India committed to increasing purchases of U.S. goods worth
approximately US$500
billion.
·
The
planned imports include:
o Energy products
o Aircraft
o Technology products
o Agricultural commodities
·
The
proposed new 12.5% tariff and unresolved market-access issues could complicate
efforts to finalize the trade agreement despite positive political signals from
both sides.
India and the United
States appear to be moving toward an interim trade agreement, with President
Trump expressing confidence in a deal. However, the proposed 12.5% additional
tariff on Indian exports and ongoing disputes over trade practices could create
fresh challenges in the final stages of negotiations.
President
Donald Trump has expressed confidence that India and the US will soon reach a trade
deal, even as fresh tariff proposals from his administration threaten to complicate
negotiations.
"We'll
get to a deal, because I like your prime minister a lot," Trump told reporters
in the Oval Office on Thursday. "He's a good friend of mine. We get along great,
and we're going to make a deal."
His
comments came after a US delegation, led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, held
several days of talks in Delhi aimed at finalising an interim trade agreement between
the two countries.
India's
commerce ministry said both sides remained committed to reaching a mutually beneficial
bilateral trade pact.
But
the talks this week also faced certain unexpected hurdles.
Even
as the US delegation was still in Delhi, the US trade department proposed new tariffs
on dozens of countries over concerns they were not doing enough to tackle forced
labour.
India
was on the list, facing an additional 12.5% tariff on its exports to the US.
Delhi
has said that the proposed tariffs are not yet final and that the US Trade Representative
would consider public comments and testimony before taking a final decision. It
added that talks on a broader trade agreement were continuing.
Meanwhile,
Trump also repeated his criticism of India's trade policies, saying the country
had for years "taken advantage" of the US through high tariffs.
"They
charged us tremendous tariffs and paid nothing...Now it is the exact reverse and
we are making a lot of money with India," he told reporters on Thursday.
India
was among the first countries to open trade talks with the US last year, but a final
agreement is yet to be reached.
The
two countries agreed to a framework of the interim deal in February and had been
expected to finalise it in March. But the talks were overshadowed by uncertainty
after the US Supreme Court struck down many of Trump's tariffs, ruling them "illegal".
At
one point, the US imposed tariffs of up to 50% on some Indian goods before cutting
them to 18% in February. After the top court ruling, they were reduced to 10%.
This
slash in duty came after India in February committed to buying more American goods,
including energy, aircrafts, technology and agricultural products worth $500bn.