Trump Says Close to India Trade Deal to Bring Tariffs Down

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said he “at some point” would reduce the tariff rate on Indian goods, saying the US was getting “pretty close” to a trade deal with New Delhi.

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“Right now they don’t love me, but they’ll love us again,” Trump said. “We’re getting a fair deal.”

Trump later predicted the nations were “pretty close to doing a deal that’s good for everybody.”

The comments were the latest signal of a possible thaw in the trade dispute that has soured the relationship between Washington and New Delhi. India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Trump earlier this year slapped additional tariffs on India’s exports to the US in part to pressure New Delhi to stop buying Russian oil, raising the rates on many Indian goods to 50%. That added tensions to an already contentious negotiation over what the US has cast as India’s high levies and other barriers on American goods.

But in recent weeks, Trump has said that Modi has pledged to wind down purchases of crude from Russia and expressed optimism about trade talks. “They’ve stopped doing the Russian oil – it’s been reduced very substantially,” the president said on Monday. “Yeah, we’re going to be bringing the tariffs down, I mean at some point.”

Following Trump’s sanctions on two of Russia’s largest crude producers last month, Indian refiners — who had been snapping up discounted Russian oil for the past three years — have begun scaling back purchases from Moscow.

Trade teams from both India and the US have met multiple times since the easing of tensions and officials in New Delhi have expressed cautious optimism that a deal with the US is in sight.

Trump was speaking at the swearing-in for Sergio Gor, the former head of his personnel office who is now becoming the US ambassador to India. Trump said Gor had already developed a “friendly” relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“As ambassador, Sergio will work to fortify our country’s bonds, promote investments in key US industries and technologies, increase American energy exports and expand our security cooperation,” Trump said.

—With assistance from Shruti Srivastava and Diksha Madhok.

(Updates with more context from India.)