Trump hints at progress on trade deal with India, signals possible tariff cuts

Trump says the US is nearing a trade deal with India, while Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal confirms talks are progressing on sensitive issues

PGurus Newsdesk

November 11, 2025

Trump signals optimism on India–US trade agreement; says tariffs will come down “at some point”

Trump says trade talks with India are “pretty close” and promises to lower tariffs “at some point”

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) indicated that Washington and New Delhi are nearing a trade agreement, adding that the US could reduce tariffs on India “at some point” as part of the deal.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of Sergio Gor as the new US Ambassador to India, Trump said discussions between the two nations have made significant headway.

“We’re making a deal with India. Much different than we had. Right now, they don’t love me, but they will love us again. We’re getting a fair deal. They’re very good negotiators, so Sergio, you will have to take a look at that. I think we’re pretty close to doing a deal that is good for everybody,” Trump remarked.

‘Tariffs on India will come down’

Later, while addressing reporters at the Oval Office, Trump responded to a question on whether the US was close to finalizing the trade pact and if he would consider lowering tariffs on India.

“Right now, the tariffs are very high on India because of the Russian oil, and they’ve stopped doing the Russian oil—it’s been reduced very substantially. Yeah, we’re going to be bringing the tariffs down. At some point, we’re going to be bringing them down,” he said.

Trump’s remarks come amid renewed diplomatic momentum to finalize the long-pending India–US Bilateral Trade Agreement, which both nations hope to conclude by late 2025.

Talks progressing steadily, says Piyush Goyal

Earlier on November 5, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the bilateral trade talks with the US were progressing well but added that “many sensitive and serious issues” remain to be resolved.

“Talks are going on very well. There are many sensitive issues, many serious issues, so naturally, it takes some time,” Goyal told ANI.

Since March 2025, the two sides have held five rounds of discussions for the first phase of the agreement, which was initially targeted for completion by the fall of 2025.

Targeting $500 billion trade by 2030

The bilateral trade agreement, formally proposed in February under directives from both leaders, aims to more than double trade volumes between the two nations—from USD 191 billion currently to USD 500 billion by 2030.

Goyal had visited the United States in September, leading a high-level delegation of senior commerce ministry officials, including Special Secretary and Chief Negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, to accelerate the negotiations.

In mid-September, a US delegation led by Assistant Trade Representative Brendan Lynch also held “positive and forward-looking” discussions in New Delhi with India’s Department of Commerce, where both sides agreed to intensify efforts toward an early and mutually beneficial conclusion of the agreement.

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