In a fresh signal of growing economic engagement between the United States and India, US President Donald Trump has hinted that a landmark trade deal with India could be announced soon. Speaking to reporters during a bilateral meeting with Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Trump said, “We have another one (deal) coming up, maybe with India... We’re in negotiation.”
Trump emphasized that the US is making significant gains through its aggressive trade strategy and that August 1 could be a pivotal moment for the American economy.
“...We've brought in over $100 billion. The tariffs haven't kicked in significantly, except for automobiles and steel. August 1st is when a very substantial money comes into our country. We've made deals with numerous places. We had one yesterday,” he said.
Referring specifically to the India deal, he added:
“We’re very close to a deal with India where they open it up... When I send out a letter, that’s a deal... The best deal we can make is to send out a letter, and the letter says that you'll pay 30%, 35%, 25%, 20%... We have some pretty good deals to announce.”
Trump had earlier announced a trade agreement with Indonesia, resulting in a reduction of tariffs to 19%. He now expects similar outcomes with India, especially in terms of gaining access to one of the world’s fastest-growing markets.
“We're going to have access into India. And you have to understand, we had no access into any of these countries. Our people couldn't go in. And now we're getting access because of what we're doing with the tariffs,” Trump stated, reinforcing his belief in the leverage created by tariff pressure.
Meanwhile, Indian government officials confirmed that talks are progressing constructively. According to ANI, the fifth round of bilateral trade agreement (BTA) negotiations is currently underway in the US, with both countries working as per the strategic direction set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump.
“Our team is back in the US for carrying out the fifth round of negotiations on the bilateral trade agreement, so that agreement is progressing as per the decisions of our leaders and as per the terms of reference decided between the two countries,” officials told ANI.
