India and the US may soon agree on a trade deal, a senior Donald Trump administration official has said. However, Kevin Hassett who is the National Economic Council Director under the Trump administration has noted that the situation is ‘complicated’ due to what he termed India’s ‘interactions’ with Russia.US President Donald Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on India’s exports to the US, of which 25% are penal tariffs on account of India’s crude oil trade with Russia. Trump administration officials have accused India of indirectly financing Russia’s war machinery against Ukraine through crude oil trade.
India-US trade deal: What’s the latest update?
According to a PTI report, Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Monday that the trade deal could be finalized soon. “Yeah, we were for sure very close. I’ve spoken to the ambassador…you know, we’ve had visits,” Hassett reportedly said.The question posed to him concerned the trade agreement with India, and Hassett noted that Washington had repeatedly come close to completing the deal.Since March, India and the US have been engaged in discussions regarding the proposed bilateral trade pact, with six rounds of negotiations completed thus far.Hassett referenced India’s ‘interaction’ with Russia as a factor contributing to the ‘complicated situation’.“I think that it’s a complicated situation because the interaction between what India does with Russia and with what India does with us, and so I think we’re still quite hopeful. But it got pretty complicated because there are a lot of different variables in the India-American relationship, but they’re good friends and we’re hoping we can work it out soon,” Hassett said.Meanwhile on Tuesday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said, “You will hear a good news” on the proposed trade pact between India and the US once the deal is fair, equitable and balanced.The minister, whilst addressing an event in Delhi, emphasised that the agreement would have safeguards to ensure protection for India’s agricultural and fishing communities.
