According to foreign media reports, the United States is pursuing a provisional trade agreement with India, and India is requesting that the U.S. lower its tariff rate to below 20%.
Bloomberg News reported this on the 12th (local time), citing sources familiar with the bilateral tariff negotiations. On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would impose a 30% reciprocal tariff on both the European Union (EU) and Mexico starting from the 1st of next month, but has not sent an official tariff demand letter to India.
The news agency reported that the two countries plan to announce the details of the provisional trade agreement through a joint statement soon. The statement is expected to include a clause that the tariff rate will be lowered from the currently notified 26% to below 20%, and that negotiations on tariff adjustments can continue.
So far, the countries that have reached an agreement with the United States are the United Kingdom and Vietnam, totaling two countries. Among them, Vietnam agreed to a 20% tariff rate. India is reportedly seeking more favorable terms than Vietnam, using this as a benchmark.
The United States is India's largest trading partner. Last year, India recorded a surplus of $45.7 billion (approximately 63 trillion won) in trade with the United States. During the last presidential election, President Trump referred to India as a "very big villain in trade." Afterward, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded quickly, visiting the White House shortly after President Trump took office.
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