US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed the United States is making significant strides toward securing access to Indian markets, crediting his aggressive tariff strategy for opening doors that had long been shut to American businesses.
“We’re going to have access into India,” Trump said, while also announcing a completed trade agreement with Indonesia following a call with President Joko Widodo. “You have to understand, we had no access into any of these countries. Our people couldn’t go in. And now we’re getting access because of what we’re doing with the tariffs.”
While the White House has yet to provide specific details on the status or content of the proposed US-India trade framework, Trump’s remarks signal a renewed push to rebalance trade relationships in Asia.
Trump pointed out that his tough tariff stance is yielding results. “Now we’re getting access,” he repeated, positioning the development as a direct outcome of his trade policies.
INDIA TRADE TALKS IN WASHINGTON
Donald Trump has repeatedly said that a deal with India is nearly done, though some final details are still being worked out. Interestingly, experts familiar with US-India relations believe it’s actually a good thing that Trump hasn’t sent an official letter to India yet. According to former officials, such a move could have annoyed the Indian government and risked disrupting the nearly completed agreement.
India’s trade delegation, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, are in Washington for planned discussions that have reignited optimism about a possible agreement. India is the biggest US trading partner facing Trump’s proposed “reciprocal tariffs.” Unlike others — including the EU, South Korea, Japan, Canada, and Mexico — India has not received a formal letter from Trump threatening tariffs of 25 to 35 percent starting August 1.
TRUMP THREATENS NEW TARIFFS
As Donald Trump sets an August 1 deadline to roll out high tariffs on multiple countries to address “unfair trade practices”, he’s also warning of more tariffs that could complicate ongoing negotiations.
He is also frustrated with Brics nations due to the bloc’s push to reduce reliance on the US dollar. India is also a member of the bloc. Trump is threatening a 50 percent tariff on another member of the bloc — Brazil. He’s also considering a 10 percent tariff on all Brics members and a 100 percent levy on countries that continue to buy oil and gas from Russia. India, notably, is the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels.
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With inputs from Agencies
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