US close to making trade deal with India: Trump

 

 

 

THE US is close to making a trade deal with India, President Donald Trump has said. “Now, we’ve made a deal with the United Kingdom, we’ve made a deal with China….We’re close to making a deal with India. Others we met with and we don’t think we’re going to be able to make a deal, so we just send them a letter. If you want to play ball, this is what you have to pay,” Trump said on Monday. The remarks came as the Trump administration sent out the first tranche of “letters” to various countries Monday detailing the tariffs that the US will impose on products from those countries entering America.

 

The countries that got these letters, signed by Trump, were Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Tunisia. “We’re sending out letters to various countries telling them how much tariffs they have to pay,” Trump said. He added that the countries were “ripping” the US and “were charging us tariffs at levels that nobody’s ever seen before. We have some countries that were charging 200% tariffs and making it impossible to do business. “And what the tariffs are doing is they’re driving people in and companies into the United States,” he said while speaking to reporters ahead of a bilateral dinner with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House on Monday.

 

Trump also repeated the claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan by telling the two neighbours that Washington would not do trade with them if they continued the fighting. “We did a job with India and Pakistan, Serbia, Kosovo, Rwanda and the Congo, and this was all over the last three weeks or so… and others that were ready to fight,” Trump said. “And we stopped a lot of fights. I think the very big one, frankly, a very, very big one, was India and Pakistan. And we stopped that over trade,” he said. “We said we’re not going to be dealing with you at all if you’re going to fight. And they were maybe at a nuclear stage. They’re both nuclear powers. And I think stopping that was very important,” Trump added. Trump went on to say that the US is trying to help out with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling it a (Joe) “Biden-created monster”. “This whole thing that’s happening with Russia and Ukraine, horrible, it’s a horrible thing. And I’m not happy with Russian President (Vladimir) Putin at all. But this is something that would have never happened if I were president. This is a war that was never going to happen,” Trump said. 

 

 

US President Donald Trump has announced a 35 per cent tariff on products imported from Bangladesh. The Trump administration sent the first tranche of “letters” to various countries on Monday, detailing the tariffs that the US will impose on products from them. In a letter to Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, Trump said that starting on August 1, 2025 “we will charge Bangladesh a tariff of only 35% on any and all Bangladeshi products sent into the United States, separate from all sectoral tariffs.” Trump further said that goods transshipped to evade a higher tariff will be subject to that higher tariff. “Please understand that the 35% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the trade deficit disparity we have with your country,” Trump said. He said that Washington will do “everything possible” to get approvals quickly, professionally and routinely. “In other words, in a matter of weeks.” Trump also said that if, for any reason, Bangladesh decides to raise its tariffs, then whatever number it chooses to raise them by will be added to the 35% that the US charges. “Please understand that these tariffs are necessary to correct the many years of Bangladesh’s tariff and non-tariff policies and trade barriers causing these unsustainable trade deficits against the United States. This deficit is a major threat to our economy and indeed our national security,” Trump said. Trump added that if Bangladesh wishes to open its “closed” trading markets to the US and eliminate its tariff and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers, “we will perhaps consider an adjustment to this letter. These tariffs may be modified upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country.” Japan PM calls US tariff decision ‘truly regrettable’: JAPANESE Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday said that US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Japan is “truly regrettable,” noting bilateral negotiations will continue toward a mutually beneficial deal. At a tariff task force meeting, Ishiba said the government will not waver in its defence of national interests in future rounds of trade talks, pledging to do all it can to mitigate the impact of the imminent tariff hike on the export-oriented Japanese economy. “We will continue to engage in negotiations with the United States to explore the possibility of reaching a mutually beneficial deal while protecting our national interests,” Ishiba told the meeting. Ishiba also said the lack of progress in reaching a trade deal was because “the Government has avoided making hasty compromises while demanding and protecting what is needed.”