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Donald Trump threatened to slap “good friend” India with heavy tariffs if it didn’t reach a trade deal with the US soon.
Mr Trump’s deadline for US trade partners to ink agreements ends on 1 August, but New Delhi is yet to finalise a deal.
“India has been a good friend, but India has charged basically more tariffs, almost more than any other country,” the US president told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that this would come to an end.
Asked if India would have to pay high tariffs on exports to the US, likely 20 to 25 per cent, Mr Trump said: “Yeah, I think so.”
“They are going to pay 25 per cent,” CNN quoted Mr Trump as saying.
New Delhi and Washington were set to resume trade negotiations next month and a deal was expected in September or October, an Indian government official told Reuters.
India is banking on this deal to boost bilateral trade from $190bn to $500bn by 2030. India enjoys a trade surplus of about $46bn with the US.
Mr Trump imposed a 26 per cent tariff on Indian goods in April. Although steep, the levy was lower than the total 104 per cent imposed on China, 49 per cent on Cambodia, and 46 per cent on Vietnam.
The levy followed earlier tariff hikes, including a 50 per cent duty on Indian steel and aluminium, prompting New Delhi to seek exemptions and concessions.
The unnamed Indian government official who spoke with Reuters said the “talks are progressing well” and that Mr Trump could issue a tariff order in a “worst-case scenario”.
“But we assume it would be temporary measure, considering the five rounds of trade talks that have taken place,” the official said. “A deal will soon be worked out.”
US president Donald Trump shakes hands with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC (AFP via Getty)
The US president reiterated his claim that he had threatened to stop trading with India and Pakistan to pull the South Asian neighbours from the brink of nuclear war earlier this year.
Although the Indian government has sought to project warm ties with Mr Trump, it has publicly objected to his claim.
Pakistan, in contrast, has acknowledged Washington’s role in mediating a ceasefire after four days of intense fighting.
New Delhi previously offered to steeply cut its tariffs on a range of US goods and assured Washington that it was working to ease non-tariff barriers. It has drawn a red line when it comes to its primary economic sectors of agriculture and dairy, however, terming them “no-go” areas for talks.
Indian officials said they were also unwilling to allow US imports of genetically modified soybean or corn products.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer said the negotiations with India needed more time, emphasising that Mr Trump wanted good deals, not fast ones.
India had shown “strong interest in opening portions of its market” to the US even though its trade policy had long focused on protecting domestic interests, Mr Greer said.
India officials said New Delhi was calibrating a strategy amid broader US tariff threats targeting Brics nations over Russian oil purchases and de-dollarisation. Mr Trump earlier this month threatened to impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on any nation aligning themselves with the “anti-American policies” of the Brics group of developing countries, which includes India as one of its most prominent members.