E-Paper
Donald Trump's big hint on trade deal with India ahead of August 1 reciprocal tariffs
Donald Trump's remarks came after a breakthrough in the US-Indonesia trade deal, under which the 32% tariffs announced earlier were cut down to 19%.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday hinted at soon finalising a trade deal with India, saying it could be among the countries America would strike a deal with before reciprocal tariffs are imposed on August 1.
Trump's remarks came in light of the recent breakthrough in the US-Indonesia trade deal, as part of which the US cut down the 32 per cent tariffs announced earlier to just 19 per cent.
When asked about the agreement, Trump said "something similar" would happen with India, and a couple of other countries.
"We made a terrific deal, he (Indonesian President) opened up the entire country to trade with the United States. We were not allowed to go in and trade. I think something similar would happen with India and we have a couple of others," Trump said, when asked about how many trade deals can be expected before the August 1 deadline.
According to a Bloomberg report, Trump suggested that a trade agreement with India was among the most likely, adding he was "very happy" with the letters.
The US President was referring to the letters issued to some trade partners dictating the rates for tariffs on imports.
Last week, he sent these "wave of letters" to 14 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Even as he did so, Trump assured that the US was close to brokering a trade agreement with India.
"We made a deal with the United Kingdom, we made a deal with China, we're close to making a deal with India," Trump had said.
In the following days, Trump slapped a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian imports, a 50 per cent tariff on all Brazilian products and threatened a 100 per cent tariff on Russia if a peace deal with Ukraine was not reached within 50 days.
Trump's fresh remarks on a potential trade deal with India come amid discussions between Indian and US officials in Washington on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA). The four-day talks began on Monday and will end on July 17, news agency PTI earlier reported.
