New Delhi: Amid ongoing talks between India and the US to strike a trade deal, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said it was “complicated” and “intricate”. He made it clear that “nothing is decided till everything is…”
Speaking to reporters at the opening of the Honduras’ new embassy in New Delhi, Jaishankar said: “Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial; and it has to work for both countries. That would be our expectation from any trade deal. Until that is done, any judgement on it will be premature.”
#WATCH | EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, “Between India and the US, trade talks have been going on. These are complicated negotiations. Nothing is decided till everything is. Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial; it has to work for both countries. That would be our expectation… pic.twitter.com/qiDroEHzQD
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2025
His response came hours after US President Donald Trump claiming that India had offered a proposal for a trade agreement with “no tariffs” or ‘zero tariffs”.
A finalised India-US trade deal would be important at any time, but even more so now that Trump is back in power in Washington, DC. He has unleashed a series of tariffs to push back against import taxes from other countries — including India, which he called “a very big abuser” of US trade.
In April, Trump imposed ‘reciprocal tariffs’ of about 27 percent on India. These were later suspended — just like for many other countries in a similar position — until July 9.
In April, US Vice President JD Vance toured India and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following the meeting, he announced that the terms of reference for India-US trade deal had been finalised. Days later, Trump announced: “I think we’ll have a deal with India… they want to make a deal.”
The deal will hopefully cover 24 categories of goods traded between India and the US, including agricultural products like soybeans and corn, as well as military equipment. In exchange, Delhi has urged lower tariffs for labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, toys, leather goods, furniture, gems and jewellery, and auto parts.
