Efforts to finalise a trade agreement between the US and India remain unresolved, with a senior US official warning on Thursday that deep-rooted differences—particularly geopolitical—cannot be bridged overnight. The comment came just hours after President Donald Trump reaffirmed that negotiations with New Delhi were still ongoing, despite his administration’s move to impose a 25 percent tariff on Indian imports starting Friday.
The tariff, significantly higher than those levied on many other trading partners, threatens to unravel months of bilateral dialogue and strains ties with a key strategic ally in Washington’s broader Indo-Pacific framework.
"Our challenges with India—they’ve always been a pretty closed market," the US official told reporters late Thursday, according to a Reuters report. "There are a host of other geopolitical issues. You've seen President Trump express concern about membership in BRICS, purchases of Russian oil, and that kind of thing."
While acknowledging that discussions with India have been “constructive,” the official added: “These are complex relationships and complex issues, and so I don't think things can be resolved overnight with India.”
India has come under steady pressure from the West, including the US, to distance itself from Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, New Delhi has continued to maintain its longstanding defence and energy ties with Russia, citing national interest and energy security.
Trump has previously criticised the BRICS bloc—of which India is a prominent member—as being adversarial to the US. Member states, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, have rejected that claim, stating the grouping works to advance the interests of developing nations.
Tensions between Washington and New Delhi have also been heightened by Trump’s repeated assertions that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, which he announced on social media on May 10. India has consistently maintained that any dialogue with Islamabad must occur bilaterally and without third-party mediation.
In contrast, Trump has managed to reach a trade agreement with Pakistan, India’s regional rival, further complicating the diplomatic landscape. While the terms of that deal remain under wraps, its announcement in parallel with the punitive tariffs on Indian goods has raised eyebrows in New Delhi.
As the new tariffs on Indian goods take effect, attention will now shift to how New Delhi responds and whether the two sides can find common ground in the weeks ahead.
