Close to the finish line on breakthrough India-US trade deal: Kevin Hassett

New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) India is nearing the finish line to clinch a breakthrough trade deal with the US, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Tuesday.

Hassett’s comments came as the Donald Trump administration signals readiness to slash tariffs to 10 per cent or lower for nations offering robust trade proposals.

Hassett, the White House economic advisor, told CNBC that a trade and tariff deal between the US and India is “close to the finish line.”

He also said that the Trump administration does not want to “harm Apple” with tariffs. “In the end, we’ll see what happens, we’ll see what the update is, but we don’t want to harm Apple,” he was quoted as saying.

India and the US have made progress on concluding a mutually beneficial trade agreement, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said last week, amid talks with the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick towards the first tranche of Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

India presents a compelling case to the US for a bilateral trade deal, given the outlook on growth and demography. The union minister stated that the two nations are “committed to enhancing opportunities for our businesses and people”.

India and the US are working to sign the first tranche of BTA to bring down tariffs before the agreed timeline of the fall of 2025, as the the terms of reference for the pact have already been finalised.

If both the countries come to an agreement on reducing tariffs, it would lead to higher trade for US and India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have set an ambitious target of $500 billion bilateral trade by 2030 in a joint statement during the Indian PM’s recent visit to Washington, DC.

The US President claimed recently that India offered to remove all tariffs on American goods, but added that he was in no rush to finalise a trade deal despite the apparent breakthrough.

--IANS

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