EAM S Jaishankar: India hopeful of trade deal with US before July 9 tariff deadline

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government is ‘hopeful’ of reaching an agreement on a trade deal with the United States before the tariff suspension ends on 9 July.

“The threat of reciprocal tariffs was raised on April 2, but we had already begun bilateral negotiations for a trade agreement,” Jaishankar said in an interview with French daily Le Figaro.

The Minister is on an official visit to Belgium and France until 14 June.

“Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi was hosted by (US President) Donald Trump in February, and they agreed to expand access to each other’s markets. We are hopeful of reaching an agreement before the tariff suspension ends on July 9,” Jaishankar said, according to a report in The Indian Express.

Jaishankar was responding to a question on Donald Trump administration's threat of a 26 per cent tariff, and the Indian government's relations with the Trump administration.

On 2 April, the US announced 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods. However, the decision was paused for 90 days, ending on 9 July.

Jaishankar's remarks come right when a team of top US negotiators held closed-door meetings with their Indian counterparts in New Delhi over four days. The talks that concluded on 10 June, Tuesday, focused primarily on greater market access for both industrial and agricultural products in either country, tariff cuts, and non-tariff barriers, according to media reports.

In the interview, Jaishankar reiterated that for over a quarter-century, under five US Presidents, India's ties with the US have continuously strengthened.

"Structural forces – economic, technological, educational, scientific, strategic, military – are driving this relationship,” he said.

On Pakistan

Jaishankar also spoke about the military action between India and Pakistan. He said the issue was actually about terrorism, not Pakistan.

“It has become an India-Pakistan issue because Pakistan harbours and supports terrorists. The conflict is between India and terrorism, not with a specific country,” the Minister said.

As many as 26 people were killed and several others injured in the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on 22 April. Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

‘India is ready to strike deep'

In a separate interview during the tour, Jaishankar issued a stern warning against future terrorist provocations, reiterating that India will not hesitate to strike back against Pakistan regardless of location.

Politico is an American political digital newspaper company.

"And we don't care where they are. If they are deep in Pakistan, we will go deep into Pakistan," Jaishankar said in the interview with Politico during his official visit to Brussels, Belgium, for high-level trade talks with the European Union.

Jaishankar's remarks reflect the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's recent stance on cross-border terrorism. Jaishankar, who was in Brussels for high-level trade talks with the European Union, further asserted that Pakistan was training "thousands" of terrorists in the open and unleashing them on its southern neighbour.