US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed confidence that soon the country will strike a trade deal with India as it's “coming along great.” He made these remarks to reporters outside the White House.
Following Vance's discussion with Modi, India and the US finalised the Terms of Reference (ToRs) to lay down a roadmap for the negotiations on reciprocal trade rights
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed confidence that soon the country will strike a trade deal with India as it's “coming along great.” He made these remarks to reporters outside the White House.
“I think we’ll have a deal with India,” Trump said. "The prime minister, as you know, was here three weeks ago, and they want to make a deal," he added, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Washington visit in late February.
His comments came day after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that many of the trade partners are "very good" proposals to avert "reciprocal tariffs", but the US is likely to sign one of its first deals with India.
Bessent also mentioned that the US held substantial discussions with its other Asian trading partners. "I have mentioned that the negotiations with the Republic of Korea have gone very well, and I think we've had some very substantial negotiations with our Japanese allies," he added.
According to Reuters, Bessent also informed that the first such trade agreement might come this week or next.
US Vice President JD Vance visited India last week. Following his discussion with Modi, India and the US finalised the Terms of Reference (ToRs) to lay down a roadmap for the negotiations on reciprocal trade rights. Vance also praised Modi as a tough negotiator.
According to Reuters, India is likely to offer a “forward most-favoured-nation” clause to the US as part of the proposed bilateral trade agreement, which the two nations aim to sign by fall 2025. Inclusion of this clause will "future-proof" a deal by ensuring no other trade partners could have superior terms.
In February, both countries agreed to boost bilateral trade to $500bn by end of this decade. The deal is expected to cover a wide range of sectors, including energy, critical minerals, technology and manufacturing with India open to considering zero-duty imports from the US in select industries under its Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes.