India Still Negotiates With US After Trump Sets 25 Percent Import Rates

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi/DOKUMENTATION of Prime Minister's Office PHOTO via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - India is said to be still involved in trade negotiations with the United States, a day after US President Donald Trump signed an order to impose a 25% tariff on New Delhi's exports.

Trump set high import duties on dozens of trading partners, including 35% tariffs for many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 20% for Taiwan, and 39% for Switzerland, according to the president's executive order.

The US delegation is expected to visit New Delhi later this month, the government source said.

"We remain focused on the substantive agenda that has been committed by the two countries and believe that this relationship will continue," the Indian Foreign Ministry said.

Trade negotiations between Washington and New Delhi have been hampered by various issues, including access to India's agricultural and milk sectors that are heavily protected.

The nearly $40 billion export from the South Asian nation's fifth-largest economy in the world could be affected by Trump's tariff attacks, according to the source.

Without an agreement, the tariff would put India in tighter trade conditions than other developed countries, which could potentially harm the economy of US strategic partners in Asia who are considered to be the balancing of China's influence.

The source said there was no possibility of compromise on India's agricultural and dairy sectors, especially not allowing imports of dairy products due to religious-based rejection of animal feed in these products.

On Wednesday, Trump also threatened to impose additional sanctions on India over its trade relations with Russia and its membership in the BRICS group consisting of developing economies and emerging. There is no clarity on the sanctions. Trump accused BRICS of implementing "anti-American policy".

The disagreement between the US and India could not be resolved overnight to reach a trade deal, a senior US official said on Thursday.