‘Tariff Talks Going Great': Donald Trump Says Trade Deal With India Likely Soon

US President Donald Trump said tariff talks with India are "coming along great", and he thinks that a trade deal between the two countries would be finalised soon.

"I think we'll have a deal with India," Trump said during brief remarks to reporters outside the White House.

"The Prime Minister, as you know, was here three weeks ago, and they want to make a deal," he was quoted as saying by CNBC news.

Trump’s comments come after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US was “very close on India." Bessent said that India could be one of the first to sign a trade deal with the US, possibly as soon as this week or next, although he gave no further details. Statements from the Trump administration have said the two sides already agreed on a roadmap for trade discussions.

Trump's team has said it wants to sign deals with India and other trading partners before a 90-day pause on the proposed reciprocal tariffs lapses in July, although some analysts and former officials say it will face steep challenges.

In talks earlier this year on an India-EU free trade agreement, the EU made a request for forward most-favoured nation status similar to what is now planned for the US, but New Delhi has not yet committed one way or the other, sources said.

Trump Offers Automakers Some Relief

Trump signed executive orders to relax some of his 25% tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, a significant reversal as the import taxes threatened to hurt domestic manufacturers.

Automakers and independent analyses have indicated that the tariffs could raise prices, reduce sales and make US production less competitive worldwide. Trump portrayed the changes as a bridge toward automakers moving more production into the United States.

“We just wanted to help them during this little transition, short term,” Trump told reporters. “We didn’t want to penalize them. ”

Trump’s Tariffs Still Causing Market Turmoil

The remarks come as financial markets remain volatile following the Trump administration’s April 2 announcement of what the president called “Liberation Day” tariffs — a landmark policy move that sent shockwaves across global stock exchanges. Trillions of dollars were wiped from the US stock market in the immediate aftermath.

Though some exemptions have since been made, markets remain shaky. Vance acknowledged this, saying: “Any implementation of a new system is going to make financial markets jittery.” But he stressed that Trump’s tariff strategy is “a long-term play,” he said.