US President Donald Trump said that an India trade agreement has not yet been finalized and warned the higher possible tariffs before August 1 to seal an agreement.
His comments followed a Reuters report that India was preparing to accept higher prices from 20% to 25% on his exports to the United States in the absence of a trade agreement, as he takes care of offering new concessions before the deadline on Friday.
“India was a good friend, but India billed more prices, almost more than any other country,” Trump told journalists on the Air Force One on Tuesday, adding that it would end.
Asked about Reuters’ report, Trump said that a trade agreement had not been finalized and that India could face higher prices.
India plans to resume broader commercial discussions with the United States in mid-August when an American delegation is expected to visit, hoping to seal a full bilateral trade agreement by October, Indian officials said.
“Discussions are progressing well,” said an official, adding that Trump could make a pricing order in a “worst case”. The manager refused to be identified without authorization to speak to the media.
“But, we assume that it would be a temporary measure, given the five cycles of commercial talks that have taken place. An agreement will soon be concluded,” said the official.
Trump also reiterated his assertion that he helped negotiate a ceasefire to a conflict between India and Pakistan earlier this year, saying the two parties accepted his request.
“It was great,” he said, describing his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India challenges Trump’s claims that he negotiated the ceasefire.
Analysts say that Trump’s remarks on the Pakistani-Indian conflict threw a shadow on trade negotiations.
Trump said on Monday that most partners who are not negotiating separate trade agreements would soon face 15% to 20% on their exports to the United States, well above the broad price of 10% he imposed in April. Its administration will soon inform some 200 countries of their new rate of “global price”.
American shares fell down on Tuesday, the Dow falling almost half a woman hundred and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq losing each about a third of percent.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC that talks in India require more time, noting that Trump wants good deals, not rapids.
India has demonstrated “a strong interest in opening parts of its market”, although its commercial policy has long focused on the protection of internal interests, said Greer.
Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Trade in India, told Reuters last week that India made “fantastic” progress in American trade negotiations.
Indian officials said New Delhi had offered pricing discounts on a wide range of goods and worked to facilitate non -tariff barriers.
However, agriculture and dairy products remain “without Go” areas, India not wanting to allow us imports of genetically modified soy or corn, or to open its dairy sector.
Total trade in bilateral products reached approximately $ 129 billion in 2024, India showing an excess of almost $ 46 billion.
The officials said that India calibrated its strategy in the midst of broader American tariff threats targeting the nations of the BRICS, including India, on issues such as Russian disintegration and purchases of oil.
“We hope to have concluded an agreement that gives Indian exporters a preferential access to our peers,” said a second Indian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
