US commerce secretary expects India trade deal soon
The flags of the United States and India are displayed on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, US, on Jun 21, 2023. (File photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
WASHINGTON: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday (Jun 2) voiced optimism for a trade deal soon with India to avoid tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump.
"You should expect a deal between the United States and India in the not-too-distant future," he told the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, which promotes relations between the two countries, calling himself "very optimistic."
Trump has set a delayed deadline of Jul 9 for countries to avoid sweeping tariffs, as he seeks to shake up the global economy to correct what he says is unfairness to the United States.
Lutnick, a strong advocate of tariffs, said he was a "great fan" of India – but voiced longstanding concern about the emerging economy's use of tariffs.
On tariff negotiations with India, "bringing them down to a level that is reasonable and appropriate so we can be great trading partners with each other, I think is absolutely on the table", Lutnick said.
"There were certain things that the Indian government did that generally rubbed the United States the wrong way. For instance, they generally buy military gear from Russia," he said.
But he said that Trump believed in raising concerns and "the Indian government is addressing it specifically and directly".
