Trump Says India Trade Talks ‘Coming Along Great’, Hints At Imminent Deal

<p>United States President Donald Trump said that trade talks with India were &ldquo;coming along great&rdquo; adding that a deal can be reached between Washington and New Delhi.</p>
<p>&ldquo;India’s coming along great, I think we’ll have a deal with India… they want to make a deal&rdquo;, according to IANS. Unlike his aides, however, the president did not put an immediacy to the talks.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The prime minister (Modi), as you know, was here three weeks ago, and they want to make a deal,” he added, according to NDTV.</p>
<p>Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary spearheading trade negotiations with Asian partner countries, has indicated that a deal with India is likely to be the first finalised following the global trade disruptions caused by President Trump&rsquo;s successive rounds of tariff hikes, including reciprocal tariffs on nearly all US trading partners.</p>
<p>Imports from India were initially targeted with a 26% tariff under President Trump&rsquo;s new round of reciprocal levies, and later it was paused for 90 days to discuss trade agreements.</p>
<p>India has been fast to sew up a trade deal, and the Trump administration has been touting it as the model outcome of President Trump&rsquo;s tariff assault on global trade. &ldquo;I would guess that India would be one of the first trade deals we would sign,&rdquo; Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNBC. Bessent has indicated the first trade deal is expected this week or the next.</p>
<p>India has demonstrated its interest in securing a trade agreement by refraining from retaliating against President Trump&rsquo;s reciprocal tariffs, unlike China, and promptly initiating efforts to negotiate a deal, as per the IANS report.</p>
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<p>Although details remain limited, there is rising expectation in the US that the agreement may involve substantial cuts to import duties on automobiles, a key American request in past trade talks.</p>
<h3><strong>The Most Favoured Nation Clause&nbsp;</strong></h3>
<p>India is considering including a &ldquo;forward most-favoured-nation&rdquo; clause in its proposed bilateral trade agreement with the United States, which both countries hope to finalise by fall 2025, according to a Reuters report.</p>
<p>According to the report, India has rarely offered such a clause in past trade negotiations. However, under this provision, any more favourable tariff concessions that India agrees to with other countries would automatically extend to the United States.</p>
<p>Out of 24 categories of goods traded between the two countries, 19 have been selected for fast-track discussions, a fourth government official said. The remaining five categories, mainly contentious farm products such as soybeans and corn, as well as military equipment, could be discussed in a second phase of talks.</p>
<p>India has proposed reducing duties to 0% to 5% on US frozen meat and a variety of agricultural products, including fish, poultry and a number of fruits and juices, as per Reuters. Those products are currently assessed at 30% to 100%.</p>
<p>”India is in a position to offer tariff concessions on nearly 90% of tariff lines immediately out of about 12,000 tariff lines,” said the official, who, like the others, asked not to be named.</p>
<p>”Tariff concessions on remaining items could be offered in a phased manner,” he said.</p>
<p>In return, New Delhi has asked for favourable tariff treatment for labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, toys, leather goods, furniture, gems and jewellery, and automotive components, as per Reuters.</p>
<p>New Delhi has also sought a long-term commitment from Washington on preferential treatment for pharmaceuticals and engineering goods such as industrial equipment and components, aiming to become a trusted partner in the supply chains of major US companies.</p>