Latest news with #tariffcuts
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
India, US push to finalise interim tariff deal as Trump's deadline nears
Indian and U.S. are holding high-level talks this week, aiming to finalise tariff cuts in sectors such as farm and automobiles as part of an interim deal, two government sources said, with an announcement likely later this month. A U.S. delegation led by senior officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) began closed-door, two-day discussions in New Delhi on Thursday with Indian trade officials headed by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, the sources said. "During the current round of talks, negotiators are discussing tariff cuts on specific sectors including agriculture and autos, and proposed benefits for Indian companies," one Indian government source, said. The deal may be formally announced by month end, before the self-imposed deadline of July 9 by President Trump, but a statement is expected once meetings wrap up, possibly by Sunday, a second official said. Trade Minister Piyush Goyal, currently in Italy, may return to meet the delegation, the official added. The officials said spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions. Indian trade ministry didn't immediately respond to requests for comments. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in Washington on Monday that trade negotiations were progressing and a deal could be finalised soon. India and the U.S. agreed in February to work on a phased deal, aiming to lift bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. Officials said, India, buoyed by recent trade pact with the UK, and EU talks, is resisting U.S. demands to open its farm and dairy markets, citing potential rural backlash. "We are ready to offer a better deal than the UK pact, with average tariffs down to 10%, matching the U.S. base rate, and near-zero duties with quotas in exchange for market access and supply chain linkages," a third official said. Washington has flagged India's average farm tariff of 39%, with some duties reaching 45-50%. It is also pushing India to allow corn imports for ethanol production. Bilateral trade with the U.S., India's largest trading partner, rose to $129 billion in 2024, with India posting a $45.7 billion surplus. (Reporting by Manoj Kumar; editing by David Evans)
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
India, US push to finalise interim tariff deal as Trump's deadline nears
NEW DELHI, June 5 (Reuters) - Indian and U.S. are holding high-level talks this week, aiming to finalise tariff cuts in sectors such as farm and automobiles as part of an interim deal, two government sources said, with an announcement likely later this month. A U.S. delegation led by senior officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) began closed-door, two-day discussions in New Delhi on Thursday with Indian trade officials headed by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, the sources said. "During the current round of talks, negotiators are discussing tariff cuts on specific sectors including agriculture and autos, and proposed benefits for Indian companies," one Indian government source, said. The deal may be formally announced by month end, before the self-imposed deadline of July 9 by President Trump, but a statement is expected once meetings wrap up, possibly by Sunday, a second official said. Trade Minister Piyush Goyal, currently in Italy, may return to meet the delegation, the official added. The officials said spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions. Indian trade ministry didn't immediately respond to requests for comments. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in Washington on Monday that trade negotiations were progressing and a deal could be finalised soon. India and the U.S. agreed in February to work on a phased deal, aiming to lift bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. Officials said, India, buoyed by recent trade pact with the UK, and EU talks, is resisting U.S. demands to open its farm and dairy markets, citing potential rural backlash. "We are ready to offer a better deal than the UK pact, with average tariffs down to 10%, matching the U.S. base rate, and near-zero duties with quotas in exchange for market access and supply chain linkages," a third official said. Washington has flagged India's average farm tariff of 39%, with some duties reaching 45-50%. It is also pushing India to allow corn imports for ethanol production. Bilateral trade with the U.S., India's largest trading partner, rose to $129 billion in 2024, with India posting a $45.7 billion surplus.
Irish Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
China and US see opportunities from tariff crisis
Three days after China and the United States surprised and delighted the markets with dramatic tariff cuts for 90 days , their negotiators met again on Thursday in the South Korean capital of Seoul. There were more de-escalatory measures from each side this week with the US cutting 'de minimis' tariffs on Chinese ecommerce firms such as Shein and Temu, while China froze the blacklisting of some American companies. The deal agreed in Geneva reduces China's tariffs on US goods from 125 per cent to 10 per cent and American tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 per cent to 30 per cent. The US tariff on Chinese imports could come down to 10 per cent if Beijing satisfies Washington that it is doing enough to halt the export of chemicals used to make the drug fentanyl. The tariff truce drove a global market rally and set off a surge of activity in Chinese factories and at ports where shipping to the US had stopped. China's manufacturing cost advantage of at least 50 per cent for many goods means that, with a 30 per cent tariff, they are still attractive to American importers. The deal was the latest in a succession of retreats by Donald Trump since he declared his tariff war at the beginning of April. But China was eager for a reprieve too as the tariffs threatened to cost millions of jobs and put hitherto profitable factories out of business. READ MORE [ The Irish Times view on the US/China tariff cuts: far too soon to sound the all clear Opens in new window ] Chinese media welcomed the deal as 'a great victory' and Beijing's resolve and political strategy appears to have paid off by persuading Trump to blink first. This did not stop the White House from describing the truce as a 'historic trade win' and Trump heralding a 'total reset' with China. The last time Trump launched a trade war against China, it took 18 months to agree a deal that included Chinese promises to import more goods from the US. Relations between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated since then but US treasury secretary Scott Bessent struck an optimistic note in Geneva, seeing an opportunity in the current crisis. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent in Geneva following trade negotiations with China. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images 'The US economy has become very unbalanced. On one side, we have ... the deepest and widest financial markets in the world. We have financial innovation. We have a tech sector that is the envy of the world,' he said. 'On the other side, we are a natural resources economy led by energy. So it is a barbell. But in between ... precision manufacturing has been wiped out, and it is our intent to bring that back. We want to rebalance, and I think that there is a big opportunity ... The Chinese, they have gone the other way. They are unbalanced in terms of overproduction in the manufacturing sector. They have stated but have not yet rebalanced toward a more consumption-oriented economy. There is a chance if we can open up trade to China, have more fair trade toward the US, that we could rebalance together.' If the US wants to bring back precision manufacturing, China is well placed to provide the investment and technological know-how, in a reversal of the economic relationship between the two countries for almost four decades. This could not only see China as the source of technology transfer but as a more consumption-oriented economy becoming a market for more US manufactured goods. [ Markets buoyed by US-China trade talks Opens in new window ] Such a scenario seems fanciful in the context of the deep, bipartisan hostility towards China on Capitol Hill and the lack of trust between Beijing and Washington. But it is already happening with some of China's other major trading partners as Chinese electric vehicle producers and other high technology manufacturers invest in plants around the world. It is in China's interest to de-escalate the tariff war with the US and restore predictability to the terms of trade as soon as possible and that might suit Trump too. But a speedy settlement between Beijing and Washington could be bad news for the European Union, which has until now benefited from strength in numbers in defying Trump. There was speculation in Beijing this week that one reason China agreed to move swiftly in Geneva was because it feared being left as the last man standing. The formidable trade negotiators in Brussels, who are currently playing hard to get with Beijing, will need all their ingenuity to avoid standing alone and vulnerable as they face their former friends in Washington.
Wall Street Journal
12-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Today's Tariff Cuts Are the ‘Best Case Scenario' for Wall Street
Investors are cheering Monday's steep tariff cuts. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities called the rollback on U.S.-China tariffs a "best case scenario' for investors. 'We believe new highs for the market and tech stocks are now on the table in 2025,' he said, adding 'this morning is a huge win for the bulls.'
Wall Street Journal
12-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
U.S. and China Agree to Substantially Lower Tariffs
The U.S. and China have agreed on substantial tariff cuts following a weekend of high-stakes trade talks in Geneva, slashing levies imposed on each other down to 10%. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
