US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said the country is "very close" to a trade deal with India, given that it is easier to negotiate with the Asian powerhouse than its other trading partners.
"I think that we are very close on India," Bessent said at a White House press briefing, adding that the country is "easier to negotiate than the many other countries because they have very high tariffs and lots of tariffs."
"So, it's much easier to confront the direct tariffs when as we go through these unfair trade deals that have been put in over decades, that the non-tariff trade barriers can be much more insidious and also harder to detect," he added.
"So a country like India, which has the posted and ready tariffs, it's much easier to negotiate with them. So I think the Indian negotiations are moving well," Bessent said.
Further, he added that negotiations with Asian trading partners are moving well since "they have been the most forthcoming in terms of doing the deals."
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"As I mentioned, Vice President JD Vance was in India last week...him and PM Modi made some very good progress... I could see some announcements on India. I could see the contours of a deal with the Republic of Korea coming together. And then, we've had substantial talks with the Japanese," he said.
Last week and on Monday, Bessent had said that India is close to concluding a trade deal with India, which can make it the first country to sign a new bilateral agreement in President Donald Trump's tariff era.
The comments come as New Delhi and Washington have already finalised the terms of reference for their bilateral trade agreement, with negotiations expected to accelerate in the coming weeks.
According to an Indian government statement on Tuesday, India and the US discussed "opportunities for early mutual wins" as the two trading partners furthered negotiations for the first tranche of the trade pact by September–October this year.
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