Trump hints India may have to pay 20-25% tariffs

India is making efforts for the US to defer the August I deadline for imposing reciprocal tariffs on over $86 billion worth of Indian exports, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday, even as President Donald Trump indicated New Delhi could face levies of 20% to 25%.

- Rajeev Jayaswal & Shashank Mattoo

Trump’s comments are likely to intensify India’s push for more time with the next round of negotiations scheduled for August 25 in New Delhi.

“I think so,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked if a possible tariff rate for India was in the 20-25% range. “India has been a good friend, but India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country. You just can’t do that.”

The push for an extension comes as US trade representative Jamieson Greer said that “more negotiations” will be needed with India on a trade deal, just days before August 1, when higher American levies are expected to come into force.

According to one of the people aware of the matter on the Indian side, “the two sides are engaged and anything can happen in the remaining two days”.

“Hopefully, the deadline would be extended, but it is up to the US to take a final call on this matter,” one of them said.

In Washington, Trump's key trade official said the administration needs additional talks to gauge how ambitious India’s government is willing to be to secure a trade agreement. “We continue to speak with our Indian counterparts, we've always had very constructive discussions with them,” Greer said in a CNBC interview on Monday.