Trump Announces "Fair Trade Deal" with India Nearing Completion, Promises Tariff Reduction

US President Donald Trump has stated that America is "pretty close" to achieving a "fair trade deal" with India, suggesting that tariffs imposed on New Delhi will be reduced "at some point."

During a ceremony at the Oval Office where Sergio Gor was sworn in as the new US Ambassador to India by Vice President J D Vance, Trump remarked, "We're making a deal with India, much different deal than we had in the past. So right now, they don't love me, but they'll love us again."

Trump emphasized the pursuit of fairness in trade relations, stating, "We're getting a fair deal, just a fair trade deal. We had pretty unfair trade deals. They're very good negotiators, Sergio, so you have to take a look at that."

Addressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who attended the ceremony, Trump added, "But we're getting close. Scott, I think we're pretty close to doing a deal that's good for everybody." Bessent confirmed Trump's assessment.

In response to questions about potentially lowering current tariffs on India, Trump explained, "Well, right now the tariffs are very high on India because of the Russian oil, and they've stopped doing the Russian oil. It's been reduced very substantially. Yeah, we're going to be bringing the tariffs down."

The US-India relationship has experienced significant tension after Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on India, including a 25 percent tariff specifically targeting New Delhi's procurement of Russian oil. India had characterized these actions as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable," maintaining that its energy policy is guided by its national interests.

To date, five rounds of negotiations have been completed for the first phase of the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the United States and India. Last month, an official in New Delhi reported that the two countries are "very near" to finalizing the agreement, with convergence on most issues, and are currently refining the language of the document.