US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that India has offered a trade deal with “no tariffs” or zero taxes on American products. Trump explained that India wants to remove import taxes on goods from the US. This means American products would enter India without extra charges.
India is trying to make this trade deal during a 90-day pause announced by Trump on April 9. This pause stops new tariffs (taxes on imports) for important trading partners like India. Right now, India faces a 26% tariff on some products because of this.
Trump said, “It is very hard to sell in India, and they are offering us a deal where they would charge us no tariffs.” He said this during a meeting with business leaders in Doha.
The US is India’s biggest trading partner, and in 2024, the two countries traded about $129 billion worth of goods. India currently exports more to the US than it imports, with a trade surplus of $45.7 billion.
Last week, Reuters reported that India offered to reduce its tariff difference with the US from 13% to less than 4%. India hopes this will help avoid new US tariffs.
Both countries want to finish the trade talks quickly.
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After the US made a deal with Britain to lower British tariffs on US goods (while keeping a 10% tariff on British imports), a similar plan might be used for India.
Two Indian officials involved in the talks told Reuters that India has suggested removing tariffs on 60% of goods in the first part of the deal.
