India Denies Promising Tariff Cuts After Trump’s Statement

New Delhi, India – The Indian government has stated that it has not agreed to lower import taxes on goods from the United States, just days after US President Donald Trump claimed that India had agreed to significantly reduce its tariffs.

President Trump, early in his second term, has taken an aggressive stance on global trade, targeting both allies and rivals. He has accused numerous trading partners of unfair practices and announced that the US will impose tariffs in response on several countries, including India, starting next month.

Last week, Trump again criticized India’s “massive tariffs,” claiming it was “almost restrictive” for American goods to be sold there. He then stated that India had agreed to “cut their tariffs way down” because, as he put it, someone was finally exposing their actions.

However, according to a report in The Times of India, the Indian government has informed a parliamentary committee that “no commitments had been made to the US” regarding tariff reductions. The report also indicated that the Indian government has requested until September to further address the concerns repeatedly raised by the US President.

Sunil Barthwal, India’s Commerce Secretary, clarified that India and the US are working towards creating a mutually beneficial trade agreement. The focus, he explained, is on establishing long-term trade cooperation rather than simply making immediate adjustments to tariffs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited the White House and is known to have a good relationship with President Trump, who has described their bond as “special.” Following their meeting, PM Modi mentioned that the world’s two largest democracies and economies were aiming for a “mutually beneficial trade agreement” to be finalized “very soon.”

While the US is a major market for India’s IT and service industries, the US has also become a significant seller of military equipment to India in recent years, with billions of dollars in sales.

It is also speculated that President Trump may visit India later in the year for a summit of leaders from the Quad, a strategic group consisting of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.