President Donald Trump stated Tuesday that India has agreed to eliminate its import duties on American goods, asserting that the country's trade barriers are among the highest globally. He made the claim during a White House media availability alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
"They'll drop it to nothing," Mr. Trump said, referring to India. He offered no specific details regarding which goods or sectors would be affected by such a change.
United States officials have indicated that trade negotiations with India are progressing. Administration representatives suggest a deal could be among the first to be announced out of several discussions underway between the US and its trading partners.
Mr. Trump has consistently focused on reducing what he views as high tariffs imposed by other nations. He noted during his remarks that India's tariffs stand out globally and stated the US would no longer tolerate the levels.
Following Mr. Trump's recent broad tariff announcement on April 2, which impacted nearly all US trading partners, imports from India initially faced a 26 per cent duty. This rate was later reduced to a flat 10 per cent under a temporary pause applied to many countries, excluding China, which faces a 145 per cent levy.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers Tuesday that the US is engaged in negotiations with 17 of its 18 major trading partners, specifically excluding China from that list. Mr. Bessent expressed expectation that trade agreements would be finalized soon. He has previously suggested a deal with India could be one of the earliest reached. Updates on these discussions are circulating across various media platforms, including those affiliated with NDTV.
Recent diplomatic engagements include Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the White House in February and Vice President JD Vance's visit to India last week. Secretary Bessent commented that the two leaders made "some very good progress" during their meeting, reinforcing the possibility of impending announcements regarding India.
"A country like India, which has the posted and ready tariffs, it’s much easier to negotiate with them," Bessent said, suggesting that existing tariff structures can facilitate the negotiation process for the US.
Raghuram Rajan, an economist and finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, noted the potential economic outcomes. "India benefits hugely if it can negotiate tariffs to a much lower level, even while some other countries have it at a higher level," Rajan stated on CNBC.