India Could Deliver Troubled Trump Trade Agenda Its First Win

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on April 28 that India is likely to become the first major trading partner to strike a trade deal with the United States under President Donald Trump’s new trade strategy — potentially giving the embattled policy its first success.

“I would guess that India would be one of the first trade deals we would sign,” Bessent told CNBC, highlighting that several U.S. trading partners have made “very good” proposals to avert looming American tariffs.

Bessent pointed to Vice President J.D. Vance’s recent visit to India, noting “substantial progress” had been made during the talks. He also said negotiations with Japan and South Korea were advancing well, and discussions with other Asian partners were proceeding positively.

Bessent emphasized that China’s move to exempt some U.S. goods from its retaliatory tariffs suggested Beijing was also seeking to ease tensions. He added that Washington had deliberately avoided escalating matters by not imposing an embargo on those goods.

Speaking separately to Fox News, Bessent said President Trump would be “intimately involved” in crafting individual trade agreements with 15 to 18 key trading partners. However, he stressed the importance of reaching agreements in principle quickly to build momentum for Trump’s wider trade agenda. (with Reuters/ANI inputs)