‘India Needs Fixing’: Trump’s Key Aide’s Message To New Delhi Amid Tariff Talks

<p>Amid ongoing trade negotiations with the US, Trump administration Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said New Delhi &ldquo;needs fixing&rdquo; and must &ldquo;play ball with the President&rdquo; if it wants continued access to the US consumer market.</p>
<p>Taking aim at India and Brazil, Lutnick said these countries need to open their markets further and stop policies that undermine US interests. &ldquo;We have a bunch of countries to fix, like Switzerland, Brazil, India &mdash; these are countries that need to really react correctly to America. Open their markets, stop taking actions that harm America, and that&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;re on opposite sides with them,&rdquo; he said in an interview with NewsNation.</p>
<h2>India-US Tariff Negotiations</h2>
<p>India currently faces some of the highest US tariffs, 50% on several goods, along with a recent 100% duty on branded and patented pharmaceutical products. The hike has rattled Indian pharma companies, nearly 40% of whose revenues come from the US. The 50% import duties also include a 25% penalty linked to India&rsquo;s continued purchase of Russian oil.</p>
<p>&ldquo;These countries have to understand that if you want to sell to US consumers, you&rsquo;ve got to play ball with the President of the United States,&rdquo; Lutnick stressed. He added that President Trump&rsquo;s approach is to make &ldquo;the first deal the best deal, with subsequent ones only getting tougher.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He also noted that several trade negotiations remain unresolved, identifying India and Brazil as &ldquo;big ones&rdquo; on the US agenda. &ldquo;You still have Taiwan. That&rsquo;s a big one that&rsquo;s coming pretty soon. I expect to really be talking to them and sorting that out&hellip; but the big ones, India and Brazil, we&rsquo;ll sort out over time,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>Amid these tensions, India and the US have resumed trade discussions. A delegation led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited Washington from September 22&ndash;24, where meetings were held with US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer and Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor.</p>
<p>India&rsquo;s Commerce Ministry called the talks constructive, stating: &ldquo;Both sides exchanged views on possible contours of the deal, and it was decided to continue the engagement with a view to achieving an early conclusion of a mutually beneficial Trade Agreement.&rdquo;</p>