Donald Trump says that India has proposed a trade agreement that imposes “no rates” on American goods, because New Delhi uses an agreement during the 90-day break about mutual levies.
The US president has also criticized Apple’s plans to invest in India, which were revealed after his so-called ‘Liberation Day’ rates were confirmed.
“It is very difficult to sell in India, and they offer us a deal in which they are in fact prepared not to charge us rates,” said Mr Trump in a meeting with managers in the Qatari capital Doha.
Reuters reported that New Delhi offered to reduce the tasks to zero at 60 percent of the tariff lines, in the first phase of the deal with Washington.
The news agency also reported that India has offered preferential access to almost 90 percent of Merchandise India from the US.
India has not commented on the reports.
Trump unhappy with Apple
In the meantime, Mr. Trump said that he had confronted Apple CEO Tim Cook about plans to move the production of iPhone from the US to India.
The American company is planning to produce most of its iPhones by the end of 2026 in the factories in the factories in India and looks at accelerating that plan to navigate potentially higher levies in China.
“Tim, we treated you very well, we tolerate it with all the plants that you have built in China for years … We are not interested in your building in India, India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well, we want you to build here,” Mr. Trump remembered the Lord Cook, who was not in the Doha meeting.
Tim Cook lobbyed at the White House for American technology companies to be exempt from the rates during the first term of Donald Trump. ((AP: Manuel Balce Ceneta, File))
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted India in recent years as a smartphone production hub and the suppliers of Apple have performed production in the country.
In March, Apple’s most important India suppliers Foxconn and Tata sent for nearly $ 2 billion in iPhones to the US, an all time high to circumvent the approaching rates of the Trump administration.
The United States are the largest trading partner of India, with a bilateral trade of a total of around $ US129 billion ($ 200 billion) in 2024. The trade balance is currently in favor of India, which is a $ US45.7 billion ($ 71 billion) excess with the US.
From 16 May, the Indian Minister of Trade Piyush Goyal will lead a trade delegation to the US to promote trade negotiations, two government officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
India has some of the world’s highest rates for import and Trump has previously called India a “tariff abuser”.
ABC/wires
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