Trump Tariffs : With the India-US trade talks entering its final phase, President Donald Trump Wednesday said that the agreement will be one where companies from America will be able to “go in and compete” as the pact would ensure “much less tariffs”.
Speaking with reporters on-board Air Force One, Trump said: “I think we are going to have a deal with India. And that is going to be a different kind of a deal. It is going to be a deal where we are able to go in and compete. Right now, India does not accept anybody in. I think India is going to do that, and if they do that, we are going to have a deal for much less tariffs…”
The President’s comments come hours after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that US and India are nearing a deal to lower tariffs on American imports to the South Asian country and to help India avoid levies imposed by the Trump administration rising sharply next week.
Indian officials had extended their visit to Washington last week through Monday to try to reach an agreement. The negotiations picked up pace so as to complete the deal by July 9, when a 90-day tariff pause ends. India could see its new “reciprocal” tariff rate rise to 27 per cent from the current 10 per cent if a deal is not reached.
“We are in the middle — hopefully more than the middle — of a very intricate trade negotiation,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said at an event in New York on Monday. “Obviously, my hope would be that we bring it to a successful conclusion. I cannot guarantee it, because there’s another party to that discussion.”
