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Date: 28/04/2025

India seen striking first bilateral trade deal with US

As in-person negotiations between India and the US kickstarted last week, US Treasury Secretary Mr Scott Bessent said he expected India to strike the first bilateral trade deal to avert President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. According to the New York Post, Mr Bessent told a roundtable of about a dozen reporters that trade talks with India are very close to reaching a successful conclusion because the world’s most populous nation doesn’t have so many high tariffs. India also has fewer non-tariff trade barriers, no currency manipulation, and very, very little government subsidies, so reaching a deal with India is much easier, Mr Bessent said at the Washington DC event on the sidelines of the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings. The Indian team, led by Chief Negotiator Mr Rajesh Agrawal, was in Washington DC for negotiating the deal, said a report.
 
Source: Exim News Service: Washington, April 27