Trump says India willing to lift all tariffs for US, but he’s in ‘no rush’
The US president also said that he is not planning to ‘make deals with everybody’
President Donald Trump said that India has offered to cut all its tariffs on US goods but downplayed any sense of urgency to reach a trade agreement with the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Trump cited India as an example of a country where he is seeking to slash barriers to US exports during an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier that aired on Friday.
“They make it almost impossible to do business. Do you know that they’re willing to cut 100 per cent of their tariffs for the United States?” Trump said.
But the president also sent mixed signals on how close a deal could be, saying “that’ll come soon. I’m in no rush. Look, everybody wants to make a deal with us.”
He added that he is not planning to “make deals with everybody”.
The remarks are the latest signal from Trump that while he plans to strike trade deals with some countries before a pause on higher import duties expires in July, that many nations will just see the US make unilateral decisions about the rates they will face.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said he is planning to set new import duty rates for trading partners over the “over the next two to three weeks”.
The Trump administration is prioritising trade talks with several nations, including India, but a lack of manpower and capacity makes it impossible to hold concurrent negotiations with all the countries caught up in the president’s so-called reciprocal tariffs plan.
Trump said he also dangled the prospect of expanded trade with India’s rival Pakistan. He previously has said that was a factor in the US effort to broker a between the two countries earlier this month.
“I’m using trade to settle scores and make peace,” Trump said.
The US has also sought to de-escalate a trade fight with China, a move Trump framed as an act of generosity to the world’s second-largest economy. After recent talks, the US slashed its rate on China to 30 per cent from 145 per cent and Beijing lowered its own tariff levels from 125 per cent to 10 per cent, with the countries looking towards further discussions.
“If I didn’t do that deal with China, I think China would have broken apart,” Trump said.
