President Donald Trump said India has made an offer to drop tariffs on U.S. goods, as the Asian nation negotiates a deal to avert higher import taxes.
Speaking Thursday at an event with business leaders in Qatar, Trump said the Indian government has “offered us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff.”
Trump didn’t provide further details of New Delhi’s apparent offer and the Indian government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
India was one of the first countries to begin trade negotiations with the U.S. following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House in February, with both sides agreeing to finalize the first phase of a bilateral deal by the fall. India’s trade minister is expected to meet Trump administration officials in the U.S. from May 17-20 for further negotiations.
Some analysts in New Delhi suggested that Trump’s remarks could indicate either that India is close to finalizing a deal, or that the comments are a negotiating tactic by the White House.
“An India–U.S. trade deal may be on the cards,” said Ajay Srivastava, founder of New Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Institute. “But the deal must ensure strict reciprocity, with both sides eliminating tariffs equally.”
Market reaction was relatively muted after Trump’s comments with the rupee recouping some of its losses. The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 index was up 1.7% as of 2 p.m. local time.
India have made several moves to satisfy Trump’s grievances this year, including overhauling its tariff regime to reduce import duties on prominent American goods like bourbon whiskey and high-end motorcycles made by Harley-Davidson Inc.
“I said I don’t want you building in India,” Trump said about a conversation he said he had with Cook. He added that he told Cook “India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well.”
As a result of their discussion, Trump said Apple will be “upping their production in the United States.”
