Trump signals tariff rollback as US nears ‘fair trade deal’ with India

The United States is “pretty close” to reaching a “fair trade deal” with India, President Donald Trump said on Monday, adding that the tariffs imposed on New Delhi will be brought down “at some point”.

“We’re making a deal with India — a much different deal than we had in the past. So right now, they don’t love me, but they’ll love us again,” Trump said during a ceremony in the Oval Office, where Sergio Gor was sworn in as America’s Ambassador to India by Vice President JD Vance.

Trump said discussions were progressing and the agreement would be beneficial for both sides. “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, if you would please. But we’re getting close,” he said, addressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was also present.

“Scott, I think we’re pretty close to doing a deal that’s good for everybody,” Trump added, to which Bessent replied, “That’s right.”

When asked if he would consider lowering the tariffs imposed on India, Trump said: “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. At some point, no, at some point, we’re going to be bringing them down.”

He added that tariffs were necessary to protect American interests. “Without tariffs, this country would be in such trouble as they were for many years,” Trump said.

Relations between New Delhi and Washington came under strain after the US imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on India, including 25 per cent linked to India’s purchase of Russian oil. India had termed the US action “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”, maintaining that its energy policy was guided by national interest.

Five rounds of discussions have so far been completed on the first phase of the proposed bilateral trade agreement. Last month, an official in New Delhi said both sides were “very near” to concluding the deal, with most issues resolved and only the final language of the agreement being worked out.