New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that goods coming from India may be subject to a 20-25 per cent tax and that a trade deal between the two countries has not yet been finalized. Trump made these comments ahead of the August 1 deadline for imposing reciprocal tariffs on various trading partners, including India.

In April, he had announced a tariff hike aimed at reducing America's trade deficit, but later stopped it at a lower rate of 10 per cent to facilitate negotiations. When asked if a 20-25 per cent tariff rate would be a likely option for India, Trump told reporters, "I think it could be."

Trump, returning to Washington from a five-day visit to Scotland in Air Force One, said, "India is my friend. They ended the war with Pakistan at my request… India has been a good friend, but India has imposed higher taxes than almost any other country. You can’t do that.”
The US is pushing for lower tariffs on its industrial goods, electric vehicles, dairy products, wine, apples, fruit and nuts and genetically modified crops. India, on the other hand, is adamant on maintaining high tariffs on agriculture and dairy products, while some farmers’ groups have urged the government to exclude agriculture from the deal altogether.
The India-US bilateral trade agreement was announced in February this year, with the aim of boosting trade and investment ties, with a target of doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. Five rounds of talks have been completed so far and the US team is scheduled to visit India on August 25 for the sixth round of talks.
The tariffs on Indian products could hurt New Delhi’s export growth. The US is India's largest export destination, accounting for about 20 per cent of the country's total exports. According to Commerce Ministry data, India exported goods worth $86.51 billion to the US in 2024-25 (April-March) and had a trade surplus of $40.82 billion during the period.