A deal with India is “very close,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday, signaling what could be a major breakthrough in negotiations with a significant trade partner.
Many foreign countries, including India, face a 10% baseline tariff after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause for harsher “Liberation Day” tariffs he unveiled at the beginning of April. The tariffs for India could rise to 26%, which was the initial rate, if a deal is not reached.
At a White House press briefing, a reporter asked Bessent if he had anything to share on whether “something could happen” this week or the next. He chose to focus on India.
“I think we’re very close on India,” Bessent said. “India — just a little inside baseball. India, in a funny way, is easier to negotiate with than many other countries because they have very high tariffs and lots of tariffs.”
He added: “So, it’s much easier to confront the direct tariffs when, as we go through these unfair trade deals that have been put in over decades, that the non-tariff trade barriers can be much more insidious and also harder to detect. So, a country like India, which has the posted and ready tariffs, it’s much easier to negotiate with them. I think the India negotiations will move well.”
Last week, Vice President JD Vance travelled to India and met with the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Vance announced the United States and India finalized the “terms of reference” for a trade negotiation, adding that he believed it was a “vital step toward realizing President Trump’s and Prime Minister Modi’s vision because it sets a roadmap toward a final deal.”
India, along with Japan and South Korea, seem to be making the greatest amount of headway in talks with the United States.
These “Asian trading partners and allies,” Bessent said, “have been the most forthcoming in terms of doing the deals … Vice President Vance was in India last week. I think that he and President Modi made very good progress, so I could see some announcements on India. I could see the contours of a deal with the Republic of Korea coming together, and then we’ve had substantial talks with the Japanese.”
Because Japan and South Korea have elections coming up in the months ahead, Bessent sees an opportunity to reach agreements with them sooner rather than later.
“I think from our talks that these governments actually want to have the framework of a trade deal done before they go into the elections to show that they have successfully negotiated with the United States,” Bessent said. “So, we’re finding that they’re actually much more keen to come to the table, get this done, and then go home and campaign on it.”
Trump implemented the “Liberation Day” tariffs by declaring a national emergency to combat what his administration says are unfair trade practices, protect American workers, and strengthen national security. While most countries received a 90-day reprieve, the United States increased the overall tariff level on China to 145%. Beijing responded by raising tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%.
Bessent would not say during the briefing whether Trump administration officials have been talking with their counterparts from China about tariffs, but he did express the view that, “over time, we will see that the Chinese tariffs are unsustainable for China.”
