US President Donald Trump claimed that India had offered the US a trade deal with basically “zero tariffs” on a wide range of American goods. He was speaking at a business forum in Doha on Thursday during his three-nation Middle East tour.
“India offered US a deal, basically zero tariffs,” the Republican leader said as reported by Reuters.
Trump’s new comments mirror his earlier remarks on April 30, when he stated tariff talks with India were very well and expressed optimism that a final deal will be reached soon. “India tariff talks are going great; I believe we’ll have a deal soon,” Trump had said while speaking at an event in Michigan.
High-level trade negotiations are going on between Washington and New Delhi to tackle tariff and market access issues.
India had suggested lowering its average tariff gap with the US from over 13 percent to less than 4 percent—a 9 percentage decrease, Reuters reported on May 9. This would be one of India’s most extensive efforts to allign its trade policies with its main international partners.
The Asian nation has offered lowering tariffs to zero on 60 percent of tariff lines in the first phase of the proposed agreement. Two Indian officials participating in the negotiations told the news agency that the government led by prime minister Narendra Modi has granted preferential access to around 90 percent of US-imported goods.
In return, India is requesting complete immunity from current and prospective future tariff hikes by the US, which hasn’t been fully provided even in Washington’s most recent agreement with the United Kingdom.
As a show of goodwill and to speed up the trade talks, additional taxes on Indian exports was suspended temporarily by the US on April 10 for a period of 90 days, ending on July 9.
This came after the US implemented universal duties on imports from nearly 60 countries on April 2 as part of a larger tariff reform effort to boost domestic manufacturing and lower the US trade deficit.
Indian exports, which include seafood to metals like steel, were subject to an extra 26 percent duty as part of the move.
India’s external affairs minister, Dr S Jaishankar called Trump’s remarks “premature” without naming him, in a sharp response.
“Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial. It has to work for both countries. That would be our expectation from any trade deal. Until that is done, any judgement will be premature,” he said while speaking to reporters.
Such negotiations are “complicated” and time-consuming, according to the foreign minister. “Nothing is decided till everything is,” he remarked.
India now has a trade surplus of $45.7 billion. The US continues to be India’s biggest trading partner. with bilateral trade reaching $129 billion in 2024.