India-US trade deal is going to be ‘different’ with ‘much less tariffs’: Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump has said that the upcoming trade deal between India and the United States is going to be of a “different kind” with “much less tariffs”.

"I think we are going to have a deal with India. And that is going to be a different kind of a deal. It is going to be a deal where we are able to go in and compete. Right now, India does not accept anybody in. I think India is going to do that, and if they do that, we are going to have a deal for much less tariffs," Trump said during an interaction with reporters abroad Air Force One.

This comes two days after Trump said that he does not intend to extend the 90-day suspension on tariffs for most countries after July 9. He said his administration will inform countries that trade penalties will be enforced if agreements with the United States are not reached.

“We'll look at how a country treats us — are they good, are they not so good — some countries we don't care, we'll just send a high number out,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Channel.

On Friday, Trump said that a "very big deal" with India is likely to be signed soon. "Everybody wants to make a deal and be part of it. We just signed with China. We have one coming up—maybe with India. A very big one, where we are going to open up India. In the China deal, we are trying to open up China," Trump said.

Trump had unveiled a broad set of tariffs on April 2. As part of the "reciprocal tariff" plan, Indian exports to the U.S. were hit with an added 26% tariff. However, on April 9, the U.S. administration approved a 90-day delay in enforcing most of the tariffs, temporarily shifting back to a uniform 10% rate for nearly all affected countries.

The imposition of reciprocal tariffs by the US, particularly a 26% tariff on Indian imports effective April 2025, has injected uncertainty into India’s export outlook, but a successful US-India trade agreement could flip current headwinds into tailwinds. The U.S. is the single largest export destination for Indian goods.