Trump says India may face 25% of duties if the deal is not agreed

President Donald Trump said India may face up to 25%if it does not complete a trade agreement with the US.

“Yes, I think so,” he told reporters on Tuesday if Delhi will face higher tariffs in the absence of an agreement.

The United States has set the term on August 1 for India and a number of other countries to either reach a trade agreement or threaten the tariff.

Over the past few months, Indian and US officials are negotiating trade, but officials alternate between the sound of optimistic and careful when it is announced.

Asked what he expects from a potential deal with India, Trump said: “We will see. India was a good friend, but India has accused mostly more tariffs than virtually any other country.”

“But now I’m answering and you just can’t do it,” he added.

The BBC appealed to the Indian Ministry of Commerce to comment.

Tariffs are taxes that are charged for goods imported from other countries. The US president has repeatedly aimed at the high tariffs of India, branding it with the “tariff king” and “great violence” of trade ties.

Trump has not yet sent a letter to India, setting a new tariff indicator – as he has more than a dozen other trading partners.

Back in April Trump announced Tariffs up to 27% on Indian goodswhich was later stopped.

Since then, both sides have been racing to agree on an agreement, and officials sometimes sound positive and at other times are measured.

“We continue to talk to our Indian counterparts. We have always had very constructive discussions with them,” said US trade representative Jamison Grir earlier this week.

He also admitted that although he had previously said that the transaction with India could be “inevitable”, it must be understood that Delhi’s trade policy was “Protectinist is a very long“And it was” based on the strong protection of its domestic market “.

Grir added that Trump was focused on securing transactions that are substantially opening other markets for the United States.

Agriculture and dairy products are one of the key points for both countries.

For years Washington pushed to greater access to India’s agricultural sectorSeeing this as the main unused market. But India severely defended this, citing food security, livelihood and the interests of millions of small farmers.

Last week’s Minister of Commerce India Pius Goyal stated CNBC that Agricultural sector is sensitive to India And that it will make sure that the interests of the farmers are “well protected”.

Goyal also told the news agency that India remains “optimistic” About to conclude with Washington soon.

Speaking to Reuters, he said that India has made a “fantastic progress” in the US negotiations and hopes they will be able to “conclude a very next partnership”.

Until recently, the US was the largest trading partner in India, and the bilateral trade reached $ 190 billion in 2024. Trump and Modi set the goal of more than double this figure to $ 500 billion.

India has already reduced tariffs for a number of goods – including whiskey and Bourbon motorcycles – but the United States continues to manage a 45 billion pound trading deficit with India, which Trump seeks to reduce.

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