One of the Trump administration’s most important trade negotiators, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, has urged India to have faith in US President Donald Trump, claiming that he will “take care” of India’s interests.
Lutnick, a close advisor to President Trump and the chief US trade negotiator with India, also voiced hope for a deal with India in the near future.
“The President thinks of America first, but he does not think of America only or America exclusively,” he stated during the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum’s (USISPF) annual meeting.
“He must take care of the house first so that we are large and powerful, but after that, he will look for his pals. We will have a wonderful relationship together, and he will make sure to look after India, whom he greatly respects and admires.”
When outlining the US criteria for a deal, the Commerce Secretary sounded less accommodative: “India is very protectionist with tariffs.” They have a 100 percent tariff on both of those items. And they will say, “I don’t know why,” if you ask them why. It simply is. It isn’t stressful because they haven’t considered it, but I believe the concept of actually looking at those things, thinking about them, and getting them down to a level that is acceptable and suitable so we can be great trade partners with each other is definitely on the table. Yes, they believe, that makes sense. Come on, let’s establish a legitimate commercial partnership.
Simply put, the US wants greater access to the Indian market.
“Market access is what I want to accomplish. We want the Indian markets to be reasonably accessible to our companies. It won’t be everything or everywhere, but we want to reduce the trade deficit right away. In return, India will want to ensure that they have special access to the American market and will want to acquire certain important markets. That’s the trade-off, then.
You lower your tariffs and allow us entry to your market if I say, “Look, I’ll treat you incredibly kindly on the things that are really important to you.” And let’s locate the appropriate location in the center. Furthermore, I believe that if you have the appropriate person on the opposite side, a typical trade minister will continue to talk interminably without producing any results because they are accustomed to stating that such a deal would take three years. I don’t really enjoy the idea of finishing something in two years.
The notion is that we’ve managed to be in a very, very excellent spot when they put the proper person in India and on the other side of the table. And since I believe we have found a solution that truly benefits both nations, you should anticipate an agreement between the US and India in the not-too-distant future.”
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