Very big deal coming: Trump as Indian negotiators reach US

Just as an Indian delegation reached Washington to resume discussions on a bilateral trade agreement with the Americans, US President Donald Trump said a "very big deal" with India was coming.

Advertisement

"We are having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India, a very big one, where we are going to open up India," Trump said at a White House event promoting passage of the GOP's tax and spending cuts legislation on Thursday.

Trump also said the US was "starting to open up China" also.

"Things that never really could have happened, and the relationship with every country has been very good," Trump said without elaborating on details of the deal signed with China.

Trump's comments on the deal with India came as Indian chief negotiator Rajesh Agarwal reached Washington to resume talks as the deadline to finalise the issue looms. Trump had suspended reciprocal tariffs until July 9. Once the deadline ends, a 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on India would kick in.

Negotiators are hoping to close the deal before that.

Back in India, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said a trade agreement with the US should not be politically driven or one-sided and India should protect its farmers, digital ecosystem and policy space.

The economic think tank on Friday said the more likely outcome of the negotiations could be a limited trade pact styled after the US-UK trade deal announced on May 8.

GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said, "A trade deal with the US must not be politically driven...it must protect our farmers, digital ecosystem and sovereign regulatory space."