Trump says ‘very large’ commerce deal developing with India

“We’re having some nice offers. We have one developing, perhaps with India, a really large one, the place we’ll open up India,” Mr. Trump stated throughout an occasion on the White House selling passage of the GOP’s tax and spending cuts laws on Thursday (June 26, 2025).

“In the China deal, we’re beginning to open up China. Things that by no means actually may have occurred, and the connection with each nation has been excellent,” Mr. Trump stated.

The president, nevertheless, didn’t elaborate on the small print of the deal signed with China.

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He stated that each nation wished to make a deal and have part of it, and his administration officers have been working time beyond regulation, making offers with nations.

“You keep in mind a number of months in the past, the press was saying, ‘Do you actually have anyone of any curiosity?’ Well, we simply signed with China yesterday, proper? We simply signed with China. We have all people. We’re not going to make offers with all people. Some we’re simply going to ship them a letter and say thanks very a lot. You’re going to pay 25%, 35%, 45%. That’s the straightforward option to do it, and my folks do not wish to do it that manner. They wish to do a few of it, however they wish to make extra offers than I’d do,” he stated.

Indian staff in Washington for talks

Mr. Trump’s remarks come as an Indian staff headed by chief negotiator Rajesh Agarwal on Thursday (June 26, 2025) arrived in Washington for the subsequent spherical of commerce talks with the U.S.

Mr. Agrawal is the particular secretary within the Department of Commerce.

India and the U.S. are engaged in negotiations for an interim commerce deal and are attempting to finalise a pact earlier than July 9.

The excessive tariffs introduced by the U.S. on April 2 have been suspended by the Trump administration until July 9.

Duty concession calls for

Agriculture and dairy sectors are tough and difficult areas for India to present responsibility concessions to the U.S. India has not opened up dairy in any of its free commerce pacts signed to date.

The U.S. desires responsibility concessions on sure industrial items, vehicles — particularly electrical automobiles, wines, petrochemical merchandise, dairy, and agricultural gadgets like apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops.

India is looking for responsibility concessions for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewelry, leather-based items, clothes, plastics, chemical substances, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas within the proposed commerce pact.

‘Optimisitic’

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick stated that one ought to count on a commerce deal between India and the U.S. within the “not too distant future”, underlining that he’s “very optimistic” about it.

“So the thought is once they put the best particular person and India put the best particular person on the opposite aspect of the desk, and we have managed, I feel, to be in a really, excellent place. And you must count on a deal between the United States and India within the not-too-distant future as a result of I feel we discovered a spot that actually works for each nations,” Mr. Lutnick stated in his keynote handle on the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Leadership Summit.

The two nations want to conclude talks for the primary tranche of the proposed bilateral commerce settlement (BTA) by fall (September-October) this 12 months. The pact is geared toward greater than doubling bilateral commerce to $500 billion by 2030 from the present $191 billion.