United States President Donald Trump  said that his administration is working on “a very different deal” with India compared to those negotiated in the past. According to a Bloomberg report, President Donald Trump said he “at some point” would reduce the tariff rate on Indian goods, saying the US was getting “pretty close” to a trade deal with New Delhi.

“Right now they don’t love me, but they’ll love us again,” Trump said. “We’re getting a fair deal.”

What Trump said on the India-US Deal

“We’re making a deal with India, a much different deal than we had in the past. So right now, they don’t love me, but they’ll love us again. We’re getting a fair deal, just a fair trade deal. We had pretty unfair trade deals…But we’re getting close. Scott, I think we’re pretty close to doing a deal that’s good for everybody, right?” the US president said as per the White House.

“India is home to one of the world’s oldest civilisations, the largest country in the world, and it’s got over 1.5 billion people, and we have a fantastic relationship with the Prime Minister Modi, and Sergio has only enhanced that because he’s already friendly with the Prime Minister…It’s also the fastest-growing middle class, and it’s an important economic and strategic security partner in the Indo-Pacific region…As Ambassador Sergio will work to fortify our country’s bond, promote investments in key US industries and technologies, increase American energy exports, and expand our security cooperation,” Trump said.

What’s India’s Stand?

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday gave an update on the ongoing India-US trade talks amid persisting tensions, as India deals with 50% tariffs. The Union Minister said that discussions on the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) are going well but added that there are several sensitive and serious issues that need more time to resolve. He told ANI that such talks naturally take time because of their complexity.

Piyush Goyal’s statement came just hours after the White House gave a similar update, saying that talks are making progress. The White House also said that US President Donald Trump continues to give importance to strengthening ties with India and stays in regular contact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even though both countries still have differences over trade tariffs and imports of Russian oil.