US President Donald Trump is pushing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do what India for decades could not or would not do: lower the high tariff walls that have surrounded the world’s largest developing economy since independence.
Piyush Goyal, India’s commerce minister, was in Washington last week for discussions on a bilateral trade agreement meant to fend off Trump’s threat last month of reciprocal tariffs.
While Indian officials say discussions are “advancing”, Trump on Friday said New Delhi had agreed to cut its tariffs “way down”. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said India needed to buy more defence products and lower its tariffs for the two countries to sign a “grand” bilateral deal.