Donald Trump's Big "No Tariffs" Claim, And A Sharp Response By S Jaishankar

A day before trade minister Piyush Goyal and a delegation of top negotiators are to arrive in Washington for talks on the proposed India-US trade deal, Donald Trump has let the cat out of the bag by making a huge claim - that India has offered a trade deal with "no tariffs".

Donald Trump, who is on a whirlwind 3-nation visit to the Middle East, made this claim during a meeting with top executives in Doha.

INDIA OFFERS ZERO TARIFFS?

Speaking about tariffs and trade, President Trump said, "It is very hard to sell in India, and they are offering us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariffs." He also expressed his dissatisfaction with Apple's plans to invest and manufacture in India.

In a quick and sharp response, India, without directly naming the US or President Trump, called the remarks "premature".

"Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial. It has to work for both countries. That would be our expectation from any trade deal. Until that is done, any judgement will be premature," Dr Jaishankar said.

The foreign minister said that such negotiations are "complicated", and take time. "Nothing is decided till everything is," he added.

In Doha, President Trump also recalled how he had "confronted" Apple CEO Tim Cook when he found out about Apple shifting production from China to India. "I told him, Tim, we treated you very good, we put up with all the plants you built in China for years. We are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well, we want you to build here (in the US)," the US President said.

APPLE'S PLANS FOR INDIA

Apple, which had already aimed to manufacture most of its iPhones meant to be sold in the United States at factories across India by the end of 2026, has been speeding up those plans to navigate potentially higher tariffs imposed by Trump on China.

In March, hours before Donald Trump announced his "reciprocal tariffs" for friends and does alike, Apple's main India suppliers - Foxconn and Tata - shipped nearly $2 billion worth of iPhones to the US - an all-time high, to bypass those tariffs, which, at the time, President Trump had said, would come into effect within two days of the announcement.

MARKETS UPBEAT

Meanwhile, equity markets in India surged to a seven-month high almost immediately after reports about Trump's claim of India allegedly offering a trade deal with zero tariffs surfaced. As the delegation led by trade minister Piyush Goyal heads to Washington, New Delhi seeks to clinch the deal within the "Autumn" time frame announced by the government earlier this year.

Donald Trump's 90-day pause on punitive "reciprocal tariffs" also ticks along, but that has not deterred New Delhi. Minister Piyush Goyal had said last month that "We never negotiate at gunpoint. Favourable time constraints motivate us for quicker talks, but till the time we are not able to secure the interest of our country and our people, we do not hurry (into any deal)."

INDIA FIRST, ASSURES TRADE MINISTER

Adding to this, Mr Goyal had said, "All our trade talks are progressing well, in the spirit of India First, and to ensure our pathway to Viksit Bharat by 2047 in the Amrit Kaal."

According to news agency Reuters, India has reportedly offered to reduce duties to zero on 60 per cent of tariff lines in a first phase of the deal under negotiation with Washington, while offering preferential access to nearly 90 per cent of the merchandise India imports from the United States.

WHAT INDIA-US TRADE STATS REVEAL

The US is India's largest trading partner globally. Bilateral trade between the largest and the oldest democracies in the world currently totals $129 billion, 2024 data reveals. At a surplus of $45.7 billion, the balance is in India's favour.

With negotiations under way, both countries are aiming for a massive boost in bilateral trade - totaling $500 billion by 2030.
 

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