Trump Says US 'Close' To Trade Deal With India, Negotiations Underway

The United States is "close" to a trade deal with India, and the negotiations between the two countries are currently underway, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday.

“We had one (deal) yesterday. We have another one coming up, maybe with India….I don’t know, we’re in negotiation. When I send out a letter, that’s a deal," Trump said.

"The best deal we can make is to send out a letter. And the letter says that you’ll pay 30%, 35%, 25%, 20%," he added. "We're very close to a deal with India where they open it up."

This comes a day after Trump told the press that his administration was working with India on "similar line" with Indonesia. The tariff on the Southeast Asian economy was lowered to 19%, as part of the trade pact announced on Tuesday.

India is currently in its fifth round of trade negotiations with the US. Indian officials, based on the condition of anonymity, told NDTV Profit on Tuesday that they are closely monitoring potential tariff differentials that could emerge vis-à-vis other countries.

"We’re in wait-and-watch mode," an official said, noting that the full extent of the impact will only be clear after the Aug. 1 deadline, when the US is expected to firm up its tariff plans.

Notably, on April 2, Trump had announced 26% tariff on India under the so-called reciprocal levies. A week later, however, the tariffs were paused as the US entered into trade talks with several trading partners, including New Delhi.