President Donald Trump says the United States and India are “very close” to sealing a trade deal, as top-level negotiations between Washington D.C. and Delhi continue to gain momentum. He also mentioned that a trade deal with the European Union might be on the cards and could be wrapped up soon.
“We’re very close to India, and…we could possibly make a deal with (the) European Union,” said Trump during an interview with Real America’s Voice on Wednesday. Earlier, Trump told reporters at the White House, “We’re very close to a deal with India where they open it [the market] up,” on the same day itself. When asked about the state of trade talks with Canada, Trump kept it brief, saying, “Too soon to say.”
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Trump hinted at a possible breakthrough, saying the U.S. would gain “access” to the Indian market as part of the trade deal on Tuesday. Drawing a comparison to a recent agreement with Indonesia where Jakarta opened its doors fully to American companies. Trump said, “India is basically working along that same line. We are going to have access to India.”
This comes after an Indian delegation landed in the District on Monday to push forward trade talks. Meanwhile, the EU’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, was also in the capital this week for a round of discussions on tariffs.
Recently, the U.S. became India’s biggest trading partner, with trade between the two countries hitting $190 billion. Trump and Modi have set a goal to $500 billion by 2030. India has already lowered tariffs on several products, including Bourbon whiskey and motorcycles. But the U.S. still faces a $45 billion trade deficit with India, something Trump is determined to shrink. That said, Delhi is likely to push back on making any compromises in politically sensitive areas like agriculture.
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The Trump administration is racing to wrap up series of trade deals with countries around the world, hoping to improve trade terms and bring down America’s massive trade deficit. With an August 1 deadline knocking at the door, tariffs on most U.S. imports are set to jump, now there’s real urgency behind the talks.
So far, Washington has managed to close deals with the UK, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Talks with a few smaller countries in Africa and the Caribbean are also in the final stretch. Before the next election, the general goal is to level the playing field for American companies and demonstrate some economic successes. There is a lot of pressure to change that figure because, as of May 2025, the U.S. trade deficit was still above $68 billion, according to official figures.