India Open to ‘Big, Beautiful’ Trade Deal with US But Red Lines Remain: Nirmala Sitharaman

India would "love to have a big, good, beautiful" trade pact with the United States, said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman as the deadline for President Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" is just around the corner.

During an interview with The Indian Express, Sitharaman responded to Trump’s statement that an interim bilateral trade agreement (BTA) in the offing with New Delhi would “open up” the Indian market for America. “Yes, we would love to have an agreement, a big, good, beautiful one; why not?” she said.

Sitharaman said that India have defined red lines vis-a-vis its agriculture and dairy sectors that should be considered. She added that opening them up is only possible with the consent of the Department of Agriculture and there is no way the government could do anything that would weaken its domestic agriculture and farmers’ positions.

Refuting Trump's “tariff king” tag on India, the finance minister clarified that the country has only eight duties, inclusive of zero tariffs. Furthermore, there have been drastic cuts in tariffs in the interim and main budgets. "The effective tariff rates are (lower than the limits) announced in the gazette with Parliament approval, which is itself far below the WTO boundary. So, for India to be called a tariff king and so on is unjustified," she said.

Commenting on the US' plans to reduce tariffs on Indian goods, Sitharaman noted that since it requires approval from Congress, hence Trump administration might just pitch in for it now and make the changes later.

Trump Looks at Opening Up India

Referring to doing business in India, Trump last week said that it is restricted and impossible to walk in there. "...India, I think we are going to reach a deal where we have the right to go and do trade. Right now, it's restricted. You can’t walk in there. You can’t even think about it,” he said, addressing a press conference at the White House.

"We’re looking to get a full trade barrier dropping, which is unthinkable. I am not sure that that is going to happen. But, as of this moment, we agree to go to India and trade...," the President added.