Donald Trump.
Credit: Reuters Photo
US President Donald Trump on Monday reaffirmed his intention not to extend the self-imposed July 9 deadline for countries to reach new trade agreements, as per media reports.
The move signals that tariffs of up to 25 per cent or more could soon take effect on nations with which the US has not finalised deals by then.
On June 29 in an interview on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures, Trump said, "I don’t think I’ll need to extend the cutoff." "I could, no big deal," he added.
For India, bilateral trade agreement with US seems unlikely to be signed by the July 8 deadline, which marks the end of Trump’s 90-day suspension of the so-called “liberation day” tariffs, creating renewed uncertainty for exporters.
According to sources, agricultural goods remain the key sticky issue. The US has been pushing hard for tariff concessions and opening up the Indian markets for dairy and agricultural items like genetically modified crops, apples and nuts.
So far, India has not budged on these issues. Concession on agricultural items is not part of any of the trade deals signed by India so far.
(With DHNS inputs)