US Finance Minister Scott Bessant has expressed hope that India can be the first country to sign a bilateral trade agreement with us to avoid President Donald Trump’s reciprocating tariffs. US imposed 26% retaliatory duty on Indian exports but later it has been postponed for 90 days. This period is going to end on July 8. However, like other countries, India is subject to a 10% duty under the current policy.
Agreement with India is easy: US Finance Minister
According to the newspaper New York Post, Besant said in a roundtable meeting with some reporters on Wednesday that trade talks with India are ‘very close’ to a successful conclusion. The reason for this is that the world’s most populous country has not imposed any excessive duty. “Non-tariff trade barriers are low in India,” Besant said at an event on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). At the same time, it is also clear that there is no problem at the currency level, there is government subsidy, but it is very less. Therefore it is very easy to compromise with India.
America wants less obstacles from India
According to the New York Post, President Trump has demanded that other countries remove their tariff and non-tariff barriers on American goods and eliminate the US trade deficit. Earlier in Jaipur on Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance laid out a broad blueprint for stronger ties between the two countries for a ‘prosperous and peaceful’ 21st century and urged India to remove non-tariff barriers, give greater access to its markets and buy more American energy and military hardware.
Citing official figures, the newspaper said that till February, India’s share in imported goods in America was about three percent. According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, the US trade deficit with India in 2024 was $45.7 billion.
(With agency inputs)
First Published – April 24, 2025 | 3:06 PM IST
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