03 June 2025 : US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Monday said that a trade deal between India and the US is possible in the “not-too-distant future”, highlighting progress in bilateral negotiations. Speaking at the eighth US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Leadership Summit in Washington, Lutnick said both nations had found common ground, news agency ANI reported.
“So the idea is when they put the right person and India put the right person on the other side of the table, and we’ve managed, I think, to be in a very, very good place,” he said in his keynote address.
He added, “And you should expect a deal between the United States and India in the not-too-distant future because I think we found a place that really works for both countries.”
Describing the outlook for the trade pact, Lutnick said, “I would say very optimistic.” He stressed the role of effective negotiators, saying, “if they put a normal trade minister, it’s an endless set of talking and no outcome because they’re used to saying, ‘this kind of deal would take three years, we’ll get this done in two years’, and that’s not really fun for me.”
He added, “And you should expect a deal between the United States and India in the not-too-distant future because I think we found a place that really works for both countries.”
Describing the outlook for the trade pact, Lutnick said, “I would say very optimistic.” He stressed the role of effective negotiators, saying, “if they put a normal trade minister, it’s an endless set of talking and no outcome because they’re used to saying, ‘this kind of deal would take three years, we’ll get this done in two years’, and that’s not really fun for me.
\Lutnick pointed out the uniqueness of the democratic mandates of the leaders of both countries. “If you think about the world, how many other leaders are elected by their country?” he said, referring to President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “So that connection is pretty unique because it’s rare… And so their relationship is very strong and very positive. And so that gives an easy path to me to do trade negotiations, because we start from a very positive place.”
However, he also noted areas of friction, particularly India’s military ties with Russia. “The Indian economy is extraordinary, your human capital capacity is amazing, your growth rate is amazing. But, you know, there were certain things that the Indian government did that generally rubbed the United States the wrong way,” Lutnick said.
“For instance, you generally buy your military gear from Russia. That’s a way to kind of get…under the skin of America, if you go to buy your armaments from Russia. So I think India is starting to move towards buying military equipment from the United States, which then goes a long way,” he added.
He also referenced India’s association with the BRICS grouping as another point of divergence.
Trump is willing to ‘call out’ high tariffs by India
Highlighting India’s high tariff structure, Lutnick said President Donald Trump is ready to call out such issues directly. “Now the President is willing to call out things straight away, meaning India is very protectionist with tariffs. They have a 100 per cent tariff on this, and a 100% tariff on that. And if you ask them why, the answer is, ‘I don’t know why. It just is.”
Lutnick stressed the importance of reassessing these tariffs and reducing them to more reasonable levels to foster stronger trade relations. He said the effort to rethink and lower tariffs is “so we can be great trading partners with each other, I think is absolutely on the table and it’s not stressful,” adding that both sides are working to “make this a proper trading relationship.”
Commenting on the trade negotiations timeline, he remarked, “earlier countries get a better deal. That’s the way it is.”
India is trying hard to be one of ‘earlier countries’
Lutnick acknowledged India’s efforts to expedite a trade agreement, saying, “India is trying hard to be one of the earlier countries, which I appreciate.” However, he pointed out that such deals traditionally take years to finalise. “But these kind of deals used to take two or three years, and we’re trying to get them done in a month, which is, just not the ordinary DNA of trading relationships between countries.”
About the US’s expectations from the deal, Lutnick said, “But what I hope to achieve is we would like market access. We would like our businesses to have reasonable access to the markets of India. Now, it’s not going to be everything, and it’s not going to be everywhere, but we want to have the trade deficit reduced.”
He also said India would have its expectations from the negotiations. “In exchange for that, India is going to want certain key markets, to want to make sure that they have special access to the American marketplace.”
Lutnick added, “And so that’s the trade-off. If I say, ‘Look, I’ll treat you incredibly kindly on the things that are really important to you, and you bring down your tariffs and give us market access and let’s find the proper place in the middle’.”
Summary:
The US Commerce Secretary stated a trade pact with India is likely in the near future, aiming to boost bilateral economic ties and resolve tariff issues.