US President Donald Trump said Thursday he is confident the US and India will finalize a long-anticipated bilateral trade agreement following negotiations this week in New Delhi [1, 2]. Trump said, "We’ll get to a deal, because I like, you know, I like your prime minister a lot. He’s a good friend of mine. We get along great, and we’re going to make a deal. We have a very good relationship" [1].
The US delegation, led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, was in New Delhi from August 24 to 26 to push forward trade talks and iron out details for an interim agreement [1, 2]. Earlier this year in February, the two countries agreed on the first tranche of the bilateral trade deal and had aimed to finalize it by March [1, 2]. However, progress stalled after the US Supreme Court struck down reciprocal tariffs that had been imposed by both sides [1, 2].
Under the proposed arrangement, Indian exports to the US would face an 18% tariff, down from the previously announced 50% rate [1, 2]. Meanwhile, the Trump administration recently proposed new tariffs of at least 10% on imports from 60 trading partners, including India, as part of a renewed protectionist push [1, 2].
India has urged the US to drop ongoing Section 301 investigations and resolve issues bilaterally amid the ongoing negotiations [1, 2]. The latest talks suggest movement toward resolving these disputes.
The negotiations this week aimed to address these tariff issues and finalize the interim details as both sides continue to engage on the broader agreement [1, 2]. The Trump administration’s public confidence in a deal signals progress after months of stalled talks.
Further discussions are expected in the coming weeks as both nations work to finalize the bilateral trade agreement and implement the agreed tariff reductions.
