During a meeting with business leaders in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, US President Donald Trump declared that India has put forward an offer of a bilateral free trade agreement with the US that would essentially zero out tariffs on most American products.
"They're making us an offer where essentially they're willing to literally charge us no tariffs," Trump said during his state visit.
But the President did not elaborate on the proposal.
Trump also stated that he instructed Apple CEO Tim Cook to delay plans to add production in India and focus on expanding it in the United States. "Apple will be expanding production in the United States," he said.
Meanwhile, the ongoing negotiations in the context of the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement saw the officials of the Indian Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative engage in friendly talks in Washington between April 23-25. The discussions aim to finalize the first phase of the trade agreement by fall 2025 (September-October).
The discussions have followed earlier rounds of talks in New Delhi in March 2025.
In a Commerce Ministry statement, "During the Washington, D.C. meetings, the team had fruitful discussions on general subjects covering tariff and non-tariff matters. The team discussed the procedure for the conclusion of the first tranche of the mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement by Fall of 2025, inter alia through possibilities of early mutual benefits."
The Ministry also stated that while virtual expert-level sector discussions have so far largely taken place, face-to-face interactions are scheduled to begin by the end of May.
These successful discussions are also part of the overall bilateral effort, according to the 'Leaders' Statement of February 2025,' to strengthen and deepen economic ties and supply chain integration between India and the US under the Bilateral Trade Agreement.
In February, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Washington, he and President Trump talked about negotiating the first phase of a multi-sector trade deal that would be finished by fall 2025.
The two leaders vowed to deepen the US-India trading relationship to foster growth that favors fairness, national security, and jobs. They also introduced an ambitious initiative known as "Mission 500" that targets more than doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
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