Trump repeats zero tariffs by India claim despite Jaishankar's 'undecided' remark
Earlier this week, speaking at a business forum in Qatar, Trump claimed, 'India has offered us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff'. The remarks came amid a series of multi-level discussions between India and the US, following Donald Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs on several countries, including India.advertisementExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar dismissed the zero tariffs claim, saying that the ongoing negotiations are complex and far from final."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 from the trade deal. Until that is done, any judgment on it would be premature," he said while speaking to reporters.Meanwhile, an Indian delegation led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled to hold meetings in Washington with US counterparts to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). During the four-day discussions, Goyal is expected to meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.The talks also came at a point when Trump -- after announcing a surprise ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan -- claimed that he had threatened to cut trade ties with both sides."I said, let's stop it. If you stop it, we're doing trade. If you don't stop it we're not going to do any trade," Trump was quoted as telling reporters at the White House on Monday.advertisementAccording to reports, both countries will try to take advantage of the ongoing 90-day tariff pause to reach an interim agreement and score "early mutual wins" before the first phase of the trade deal is announced in October this year.The US has suspended 26 per cent levies on Indian imports until July 9, which Trump announced on April 2 to bridge the trade gap. The baseline tariff of 10 per cent still stands.Tune InMust Watch
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