Trump drops Apple, zero tariff claims on India

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that India had offered a trade deal proposing "no tariffs" for American goods, a claim that comes as the two countries race to finalise an agreement before a July deadline.

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The US president, speaking during a meeting in the Qatari capital Doha, also expressed his dissatisfaction with Apple's plans to invest in India.

"It is very hard to sell in India, and they are offering us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariffs," Trump said, according to Reuters.

He also expressed dissatisfaction with Apple's plans to shift production to India, recalling a conversation with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was not present at the event.

"Tim, we treated you very good, we put up with all the plants you built in China for years... we are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well. We want you to build here," Trump said, recounting his message to Cook.

India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar responded with caution, emphasising that negotiations are still ongoing and any agreement must benefit both nations.

"On the trade remarks... between India and US, trade talks have been going on, negotiations have been going on," Jaishankar told reporters in New Delhi. "These are very complicated negotiations. They are very intricate." The foreign minister stressed that nothing has been finalised yet. "Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial. Any trade deal has to work for both countries, and I think that would be our expectation from the trade deal. Until that is done, I think any judgement on it would be premature," he said.