US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant has said that India could be one of the first bilateral trade deals with the US. He said that the deal is likely to avoid the reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.
In an interview given to CNBC's 'Squawk Box', Besant said, "The talks with our Asian trading partners are progressing well. Vice President JD Vance was in India last week and reported significant progress from there."
He added that talks with Korea and Japan have also been positive. While President Trump has kept the overall tariff at 10 percent in effect, he has suspended the more stringent tariffs for 90 days. In the meantime, talks are underway on 15 to 18 important trade deals".We have received good proposals from many countries and they are being evaluated," Besant said. “I think India is going to be one of the first trade deals. So keep an eye on that.”
Meanwhile, on reducing trade tensions with China, he said, “Since China exports five times more goods than us, they should reduce these tensions. 120 to 145 percent tariffs are not sustainable in the long term.”
It is worth noting that on April 2, President Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on several countries, including India and China. However, on April 9, he suspended these tariffs for 90 days, which will be effective until July 9—but they remain in place for China and Hong Kong. Moreover, the 10 percent basic tariff and the 25 percent tariff on steel, aluminum and auto parts are still in effect.
During Vice President Vance’s visit to India, both countries acknowledged “significant progress” towards a mutually beneficial trade deal. In addition, there was discussion on increasing cooperation in energy, defense, strategic technology and other areas.
