It’s looking like the U.S. and India won’t be able to reach a trade deal before President Donald Trump visits the country.
A Reuters report says India has proposed new tariffs that have complicated the negotiations.
The U.S.-India Business Council tells reporters that hopes were fading for the two sides to be able to quickly bridge the gap in their efforts to restore some U.S. trade preferences for India, as well as improve market access for selected U.S. farm products.
“We’re still hopeful that some kind of agreement could be reached,” the council says in a statement. “We do recognize and acknowledge that both governments have been indicating that an agreement is not likely to happen at the stage of the talks.”
Trump himself is sending mixed messages on the possibility of a trade agreement with India.
“We’re going to India and we may make a tremendous deal there,” he says. “Maybe we’ll slow it down and do it after the election. We’ll see what happens, but we will only make deals if they are good deals that put America first.”
A spokesman for India’s Foreign Ministry says they won’t rush into a trade deal with the U.S. unless there’s a balanced outcome that’s good for both countries.
