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08-07-2025
Bureau Report + Agencies
NEW DELHI: India is ready to make trade deals in the national interest, but not just to meet deadlines, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday when asked whether a deal could be reached with the US in time for a July 9 deadline set by Washington.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 26% tariff on all imported Indian goods, among the tariffs due to take effect next week on countries around the world who fail to reach agreements before a deadline he set in April.
“Free trade agreements are possible only when there is two-way benefit, it should be a win-win agreement,” Goyal told reporters.
“National interest will always be supreme. Keeping that in mind, if a good deal can be made, then India is always ready to make a deal with developed countries,” he said.
“India never does any trade deal on the basis of deadline or time frame…we will accept it only when it is completely finalized and in the national interest.”
Indian officials returned from Washington this week after an extended visit to iron out lingering concerns on both sides. Trade talks between India and the US have hit roadblocks over disagreements on import duties for auto components, steel, and farm goods.
India is resisting opening up its agriculture and dairy sectors while asking for a favorable tariff for its goods entering the US compared to countries like Vietnam and China.
Separately, India proposed retaliatory duties against the US at the World Trade Organization, saying Washington’s 25% tariff on automobiles and some auto parts would affect $2.89 billion of India’s exports, according to an official notification.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump had earlier agreed to sign a bilateral trade agreement to expand trade to $500 billion by 2030, up from $191 billion in 2024.
A couple of days Donald Trump had said that the United States will place a lower-than-promised 20 percent tariff on many Vietnamese exports, President Donald Trump has said, cooling tensions with its 10th-biggest trading partner days before he could raise levies on most imports.
Vietnamese goods will now face a 20 percent tariff and any transshipments from third countries through Vietnam will face a 40 percent levy, Trump said, announcing the trade deal on Wednesday. Vietnam would accept US products with a zero percent tariff, he added.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” Trump said on Truth Social after speaking with Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam.
Trump’s announcement comes just days before a July 9 deadline he set to resolve negotiations before he ramps up tariffs on most imports, one of the Republican’s signature economic policies.
Under that plan announced in April, US importers of Vietnamese goods would have had to pay a 46 percent tariff.
The Vietnamese government said in a statement that the two countries agreed on a joint statement about a trade framework. It did not confirm the specific tariff levels mentioned by Trump.
Vietnam would commit to “providing preferential market access for US goods, including large-engine cars”, the government in Hanoi said.
A deal between the two countries would be a political boost for Trump, whose team has struggled to quickly close deals with Washington’s biggest trading partners ahead of the deadline.
