In a surprising announcement, former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that India has offered to eliminate all tariffs on American imports. Speaking at a business event in Doha, Trump said, “India has basically offered us a deal where they would charge us no tariffs at all.”
This statement comes as the U.S. and India are actively negotiating a broader trade agreement. So far, the Indian government has not commented on Trump’s remarks, and no official details of such a deal have been released. The BBC has reached out to India’s commerce ministry for clarification.
Trump made the comments while discussing Apple’s decision to shift iPhone production to India. He told attendees that he had advised Apple CEO Tim Cook against building in India due to the country’s historically high tariffs. However, Trump noted that India appeared to be changing its stance, offering the U.S. a tariff-free deal.
Earlier this month, Apple announced plans to move most of its iPhone manufacturing from China to India, while relocating production of other products like iPads and Apple Watches to Vietnam.
Trump’s administration had imposed tariffs of up to 27% on Indian goods in April. India is now pushing to secure a trade deal before Trump’s 90-day freeze on new tariffs expires on July 9.
In a related move, the U.S. and China recently agreed to reduce tariffs on each other’s goods. The U.S. dropped tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while China reduced its tariffs on American goods from 125% to 10%.
The U.S. was India’s largest trading partner until recently, with trade between the two countries totaling around $190 billion. Although India has already lowered duties on select U.S. products like bourbon whiskey and motorcycles, the U.S. still faces a $45 billion trade deficit with India—a figure Trump has often cited as a concern.
Trade expert Ajay Srivastava believes India may be willing to remove tariffs on 90% of U.S. goods, excluding sensitive sectors like agriculture and automobiles. He advocates for a “zero-for-zero” approach, where both countries commit to removing tariffs equally.
While both Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have set an ambitious goal of doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion, progress will likely hinge on mutual concessions and political will—especially in sensitive sectors like farming.
India has been showing a growing willingness to enter trade pacts. Last week, it finalized a deal with the UK to reduce duties on key sectors, including whisky and cars. In 2024, India also signed a $100 billion free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) after nearly 16 years of discussions.
Now, all eyes are on whether India and the EU can finalize their own free trade agreement this year, as New Delhi continues to shift toward a more open trade policy.
