The Trump administration is almost done locking in a new trade agreement with India, and the deal could be announced within days.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House that the negotiations were moving fast, and he believes both countries will sign a deal soon. “I think we’ll have a deal with India,” Trump said. “The prime minister, as you know, was here three weeks ago, and they want to make a deal.”
Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, had visited Washington in late February. Since then, both countries have been pushing to wrap up talks. According to CNBC, the White House sees this trade deal as one of several negotiations happening globally right now, but the India deal appears to be the closest to being done.
Bessent and Vance say India deal is nearly ready
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed during a White House briefing that the U.S. is “very close on India.” He said the administration had also been holding talks with Japan, and he suggested the U.S. is also nearing a possible agreement with South Korea. “The contours of a deal” with Seoul are coming together, he said, without sharing specific terms or a deadline.
But India seems to be the focus. Bessent pointed to a recent meeting between Vice President JD Vance and Modi, saying the two leaders “made some very good progress.” He said that the discussions went well enough that an announcement on India could happen soon.
“A country like India, which has the posted and ready tariffs, it’s much easier to negotiate with them,” Bessent said. The structure of India’s existing tariffs is one of the things making this easier. They’re already written down, not hidden or vague.
That helps U.S. negotiators know exactly what they’re working with. That’s not the case with every country, Bessent added, and it’s why talks with India have moved faster than others.
The potential benefits are not one-sided. Raghuram Rajan, an economist at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, told CNBC that India stands to gain a lot if it can get those tariffs lowered. “India benefits hugely if it can negotiate tariffs to a much lower level, even while some other countries have it at a higher level,” Rajan said. He explained that this could make India more attractive to companies, especially because of its huge local market.
Lutnick hints at another trade deal done
While all eyes are on India, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick added fuel to the fire shortly after by claiming that one deal was already done, but it was not yet public.
Speaking to CNBC’s Brian Sullivan, Howard said, “I have a deal done, done, done, done, but I need to wait for their prime minister and their parliament to give their approval, which I expect shortly.” He refused to name the country, but the markets responded anyway.
Right after Howard’s comments, the stock market spiked. Traders saw the statement as a sign that real progress was being made. The details of the unnamed deal are still under wraps, and Howard didn’t confirm if India was the country involved.
When asked whether he was involved in any talks with China, Howard quickly said no. “My portfolio is the rest of the world’s trade deals,” he said. China is being handled separately by Bessent.
As for who else is being courted, Bessent told reporters that the White House has active talks going with 17 different countries. “We have 18 important trading relationships; we will be speaking to all of those partners, or at least 17 of them, over the next few weeks,” he said.
According to him, many of those countries have already come to Washington. China isn’t one of them. So far, the administration hasn’t signed anything official. Bessent said many countries have reached out about deals, but nothing has been announced. Right now, India, Japan, and South Korea are the top prospects.
Later in the day, Bessent went on Fox Business and was asked directly about Lutnick’s claim of a finished deal. He didn’t confirm or deny. “I’m not going to get ahead of the president,” Bessent said. “Nothing’s done until President Trump announces it. So we should wait to hear from President Trump over the next couple of days.”
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