Bessent says U.S. nearing trade deal with India

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is “very close” to a trade deal with India as the White House juggles negotiations with multiple trading partners ahead of a fast-approaching deadline to set tariff amounts.

Mr. Bessent’s comments mirror positive hints from President Trump, who enjoys warm relations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi but says the Asian powerhouse hits U.S. products with high tariffs and needs to negotiate.

“We are very close with India,” Mr. Bessent told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.

Vice President J.D. Vance established a framework for a deal during a stop in India weeks ago, though the two sides have been working through disagreements over Mr. Trump’s steel tariffs and other matters. An Indian trade delegation recently extended its visit to Washington into next week. 

Mr. Trump’s trade team is scrambling to negotiate terms before a 90-day pause on its “Liberation Day” tariffs expires on July 8.

The White House says countries must present fair trade deals or accept a letter assigning them a tariff amount on goods they send into the U.S.

Mr. Bessent said officials at the Treasury and Commerce departments and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have been amazed at countries’ offers.

“They can’t believe what we’re getting,” Mr. Bessent said. “These are deals like they’ve never seen before.”

Still, many deals haven’t solidified during the 90-day pause.

The U.K. struck an early deal in principle to allow U.S. goods into its markets in exchange for tariff relief and aerospace transactions. China and the U.S. are maintaining a channel of communication to settle deep-seated trade disputes.

Mr. Bessent said he is “confident” that Beijing will live up to its side of the deal, which includes the release of rare earth minerals to American companies.

Other countries are struggling to negotiate successfully.

Mr. Trump unloaded on the Japanese on Monday, saying they don’t accept American rice even though they’ve experienced shortages. He suggested he would assign a tariff to Japanese products despite early hope for a deal.

“Every country has a different agenda, a different set of wants,” Mr. Bessent said. “If the deal is not fair to the American people, President Trump’s told us not to take it.”

Tariffs are taxes or duties paid by importers on the goods they bring in from foreign markets.

Mr. Trump imposed a blanket 10% tariff on all imports. 

Some countries face higher levies because the U.S. is trying to rebalance trade deficits, meaning cases where other countries sell plenty of products to U.S. consumers but don’t buy nearly as much from American producers.

India, for instance, would face a 26% reciprocal tariff if the countries can’t strike a deal and Mr. Trump returns to his original plan.

Mr. Bessent said trade news would rev up again after the July Fourth weekend. Mr. Trump wants to sign the tax-and-spending legislation that made it through the Senate on Tuesday and needs to clear the House before reaching his desk.

“We want to get [the bill] signed on Friday and then talk about the trade deals next week,” Mr. Bessent said. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government could reach a deal with the U.S. by July 21. He outlined the path after caving late Sunday to Mr. Trump’s demand that Ottawa rescind a digital service tax on U.S. tech companies.

The decision put trade talks back on track, though relations between the neighbors are running hot and cold.

Canada faces a 25% tariff on goods it sends to the U.S., though many products are exempt under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement that Mr. Trump struck in his first term.

Ottawa is contending with sector-specific tariffs on steel, aluminum, cars and car parts, however.

Mr. Carney made a not-so-veiled reference to the trade tensions in a video, posted on X, that celebrated Canada Day on Tuesday.

“The world is changing,” he said. “Old friendships are fraying, [and] our economy is being buffeted by a trade war we didn’t start.”

That contradicts Mr. Trump’s assertion that Canada has hit America with huge levies for years.