Washington: In a significant development on the global trade front, President Donald Trump has stated that the United States is “close to making a deal with India”, even as Washington moves ahead with imposing fresh tariffs on several countries.
Trump made the remarks during a White House briefing on Tuesday, where he outlined the administration's evolving trade strategy.
“We've made a deal with the United Kingdom, we've made a deal with China, we've made a deal -- we're close to making a deal with India... Others we met with, we don't think we're going to be able to make a deal. So we just send them a letter,” President Trump said.
His comments came as the US began issuing formal notices to a number of key trading partners -- including South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Bangladesh -- notifying them of impending tariff increases set to take effect from August 1.
These letters mark the beginning of what the administration has described as a broader recalibration of trade relationships aimed at levelling the playing field for American producers.
“We're sending out letters to various countries telling them how much tariffs they have to pay. Some will maybe adjust a little bit depending if they have a cause, we're not going to be unfair about it,” Trump added.
The US-India trade talks have seen momentum in recent months, with negotiators from both sides working to finalise a limited deal focused on tariff reductions. However, key sticking points remain, particularly regarding market access to India’s agricultural and dairy sectors. These areas are politically sensitive in India, where agriculture sustains nearly half of the population despite contributing only 16 per cent to the economy.
Concerns over food safety and the livelihoods of rural communities have made New Delhi reluctant to open these sectors, a stance consistent with its policy of excluding agriculture from most free trade agreements.
In return, India is pressing for lower US tariffs on its labour-intensive exports such as leather goods, garments, and footwear, key industries that support millions of jobs in the country.
Trump issues letters to 6 more countriesWashington: President Donald Trump has issued a round of tariff letters to six countries, including Algeria, Brunei, Iraq, Libya, Moldova and the Philippines. The letters call for tariffs of 30% on Algeria, 25% on Brunei, 30% on Iraq, 30% on Libya, 20% on the Philippines and 25% on Moldova. Similar to Donald Trump's first batch of documents, the tariff levels were not too far from those originally threatened in April, although some partners received notably lower rates this time. While the US president in April imposed a 10% levy on almost all trading partners, he unveiled – and then held off on – higher rates for dozens of economies. The deadline for these steeper levels to take effect was meant to be Wednesday, before Trump postponed it further to August 1. Apart from tariffs targeting goods from different countries, Trump has also rolled out sector-specific duties on steel, aluminium and autos since returning to the White House in January. Trump said tariffs were incoming on copper and pharmaceuticals as well. |
Indian exporters hail US move to extend tariff deadlineNew Delhi: Indian exporters have welcomed the US decision to postpone the tariff hikes on imports from July 9 to August 1, as this will allow more time for talks to sort out the trade issues. Director General of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Ajay Sahai said that this deferment of the imposition of reciprocal tariffs reflects the US's willingness to engage constructively with its trading partners. "It provides an extended window for dialogue, which can help our negotiators to sort out remaining contentious issues," he pointed out. Sahai further stated that the proposed tariffs, covering a dozen countries, may provide India with more comparative advantage if it finalises a BTA (bilateral trade agreement) with the US, at least on goods, by the end of this month. United States' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier said that Washington is close to reaching agreements on several trade deals as "a lot of proposals" have poured in from various countries at the last minute. His comments hint at several big trade deal announcements by the Donald Trump administration. |
