- 11 hours ago
In an exclusive interview with India Today, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor confirmed the India-US trade deal, stating the final tariff number will be 18 and whether that takes an hour or two days.
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00:00Let's play that conversation that we had with the U.S. Ambassador to India, Ambassador Gore,
00:08in which he confirmed this deal.
00:10Of course, the confirmations have come in from both the sides, the U.S. President and Prime Minister Modi.
00:17It's a big moment, and I'm looking at, you know, so give us the details.
00:23So the deal has been inked.
00:25Prime Minister Modi, just 30 seconds back, has said that he's delighted that made-in-India products
00:31will now have a reduced tax of 18%.
00:34Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement.
00:41Yes, hi, good evening. It's a pleasure to join you on India Today.
00:44And I see some of my friends, including Rohit, on air with you tonight.
00:48As you have stated, the President just concluded a very successful phone call with Prime Minister Modi.
00:54Since I arrived in India a month ago, I have repeated many times that the President considers the Prime Minister a true friend.
01:01And I mean that.
01:02And that is the reason this deal got done so fast, and we've been able to move things along in an incredible direction.
01:11I've often said that India and the United States have limitless potential,
01:16and that is because of the leadership of President Trump and Prime Minister Modi.
01:19So we're very happy, we're thrilled with this deal.
01:22There's so many things ahead between our two countries, but tonight it's a great evening for both nations.
01:30Ambassador Gore, some more details here.
01:33When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together,
01:36that's what Prime Minister Modi is saying.
01:38It benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities.
01:41This was a deal which has taken a lot of time, but finally it appears that both sides have agreed on most of the points here.
01:52No, look, you're 100% right.
01:54This is a complex deal.
01:55As you mentioned, India is one of the most important and one of the largest economies.
01:58This is not a small country.
02:00To put it in perspective, the deal with the European Union took almost 20 years.
02:04So on the grand scale of things, this is not that long.
02:07But we're thrilled that we were able to get to the successful result.
02:12The Prime Minister has incredible leadership.
02:14The President truly considers him a dear friend.
02:17He actually extended an invite for him this evening to visit India once again.
02:21The President recalled his fond memories of visiting India the last time.
02:26And so that's something, when the President came back into office, he had a great relationship that was built upon previous years.
02:34And that relationship carried over many years.
02:37And it's something that will continue leading ahead.
02:41Ambassador Gaur, just continue to be with us.
02:43Rohit has a question, and so does Raj Chingapa here in our studios.
02:48Ambassador Gaur, thank you so much for doing this.
02:50I was going to ask you about that visit.
02:52You know, that obviously is something that President Trump wanted to take.
02:56Just out of curiosity, you know, what are the next steps?
02:58We know E.M. Jashankar is in Washington, D.C.
03:01There's going to be that announcement on the critical minerals.
03:04What else is on the cards?
03:05I mean, you know, we've obviously not talked about Quad.
03:08Is Quad coming back in your conversations?
03:11Look, Quad never went anywhere, right?
03:13I mean, Quad, the first thing that Secretary Rubio did upon assuming office,
03:18an hour after Secretary Rubio walked into the State Department,
03:21the first thing he did was have a Quad meeting.
03:23So definitely they'll be reengaged.
03:26We have a lot of big things.
03:27We don't want to announce too much tonight because we already had some big announcements tonight.
03:31And for everybody watching, Rohit was the first person that I gave an interview to
03:36from the Indian media in Washington, D.C.
03:39So I'll never forget that, Rohit.
03:41Thank you, sir.
03:42I mean, obviously, thank you so much for doing this.
03:45And, I mean, I'll let somebody else ask you.
03:47I just have a quick question, Ambassador Gore, if you don't mind, Raj Chingapa here.
03:51Congratulations, firstly, Ambassador Gore, for pulling this off within weeks of you taking over.
03:59I didn't do anything.
04:00All the work was done by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi.
04:03And it was good to see President Trump tweet the, or to put in truth social, the India Today cover.
04:11And, you know, clearly he seemed to have liked the cover.
04:15But my question is...
04:16There's something I'll share with the viewers that I think I told you, Raj.
04:18I ran into Raj at the Republic Day reception that, Her Excellency the President, hosted.
04:25And I ran into Raj and I told him, you know, I went to a meeting and I saw the most incredible cover.
04:31And I took a picture and I sent it to the President.
04:34Little did I know that he would be posting it online.
04:37I would have gotten a better picture of it, not as crumpled.
04:40And I appreciated you sent me some brand new copies recently of it.
04:43So those are actually in the mail to the White House.
04:47Thank you so much for that.
04:49I'm glad the President liked it.
04:51And thank you for having it sent to him.
04:53Ambassador Gore, my question is just a little clarification.
04:57We were debating about the fact that while this is great news that the tariffs have come down from 25% to 18%.
05:05What we were looking really at was the Russian punitive, the Russian oil punitive tariff that President Trump had imposed on India.
05:11Has that gone as well?
05:13There doesn't seem much clarity in the tweet, I mean, in the input social or from what the Prime Minister Modi said.
05:19Are we clear that we are down to 18% or we are at 43% at the moment with the Russian tariffs?
05:26No, the final number is 18.
05:28And as the President indicated, assuming that the trend continues down on the purchase of Russian oil, the number will be 18.
05:37And I know that the Prime Minister deeply cares about peace in Ukraine also.
05:42And so there was never any doubt that anything to do to bring peace to this area, this was not targeted at India.
05:50This is something the President did across the globe and pushed a lot of people to stop funding this war.
05:56We want to bring peace to this very troubled region, and we know that the Prime Minister supports those efforts.
06:03May I just clarify that again?
06:04Are you saying that the punitive Russian tariffs have been removed or it will be removed gradually?
06:09Just that clarification.
06:11The final number will be 18.
06:13And whether that takes an hour or two days, you know, there's technicalities that need to be worked out and paperwork that needs to be signed, but the number will be 18.
06:22Okay.
06:22Ambassador Gaur, what should we be expecting?
06:24I appreciate joining you guys.
06:25Thank you so much for having me on tonight.
06:27All right.
06:28I love it.
06:28Ambassador Sergio Gaur, U.S. Ambassador to India, thank you.
06:32For joining us and sharing your views and thoughts.
06:35So, the indication is clear from both the sides that India-U.S. trade deal has been sealed.
06:45It is, the tariff will be around 18%.
06:48Prime Minister Modi also took to his Twitter account to say that the make-in-India products will now be around 18%.
06:58Of course, there are several details which are yet to emerge, and that's going to happen tomorrow.
07:02But what an eventful evening it has been, Raj.
07:05Yes, and I think it was good to see Ambassador Gaur clarify that big question of whether the Russian oil punitive tariff that President Trump had imposed on us would also go.
07:18He indicated that, and he said, well, it will take a couple of hours, a few days, but that's 18% is what it's going to be for India.
07:25And I think you're going to see a sharp upswing, Maria, in not only the stocks and shares tomorrow at the market, but also across the board.
07:36There's, given the fact that we've been able to break through on this and get the kind of tariffs we did, you're going to see a surge in terms of exports.
07:45There are a lot of things, of course, let's not forget, it's one thing to sign a deal, but the other thing to get these things moving.
07:51But this is a very, very positive surge coming back to back with the EU.
07:55It puts India on the world map when it comes to trade, and that's the good news that we are seeing across.
08:01Something to celebrate, finally, from whatever clarification we were able to get on India Today television from Ambassador Gaur.
08:07Okay, Geeta Mohan continues to be with us. We also have Karishma joining us, and Rohit continues to be with us also from Washington, D.C.
08:19Rohit, you know, even as we wait for details to emerge from the Ministry of External Affairs or perhaps now from the Commerce Ministry,
08:28that's where, you know, the details of what exactly has been agreed upon will become clear.
08:34What are you picking up from the U.S. side?
08:37I was just told off the record that there's going to be some release.
08:44I don't know if it's going to be an audio-visual release, which is something that has happened in the past also.
08:49So it could be that we could probably see something come up on social or on Twitter that will have the leaders talking,
08:56or it could be just a plain release that would come out.
08:59So I think that's number one.
09:01The phone conversation, are you saying that?
09:03The telephonic conversation that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump had, that could be put out?
09:07I'm not saying that, Maria.
09:10I'm saying I was told that that could be a possibility.
09:12So we'll have to wait and watch.
09:14But that's something I think is why some people are not talking as much as they would want to right now.
09:22I think they want that messaging to go out.
09:25And I think it's important, you know, if it's an audio-visual,
09:27then I think it will be very powerful in reiterating the fact, as Ambassador himself said,
09:33that, you know, it's a very important relationship that matters to America.
09:37And whatever has had, you know, whatever things have been said in the last couple of months,
09:41you know, we are moving past that.
09:42So I think that would be a very strong message if that is put out, is what I've been told.
09:46The other thing, Maria, is, you know, the EAM, Jay Shankar, is here in town.
09:52We're expecting him to also talk about this.
09:55He's going to be meeting with other leaders in Washington, D.C. on February 4th.
10:00He's also going to be meeting Secretary Rubio.
10:02So we could also see some comments from them.
10:05But before that, I think everybody is now waiting on the White House and the PMO
10:08to release something that has all the details.
10:11And as Gaurav was saying, you know, devil usually is in the details.
10:14Got to wait and watch.
10:16We will wait for that, certainly.
10:19And Agita, you know, what would be the next few steps?
10:22Will Prime Minister Modi be traveling to Washington, D.C. for the deal to be signed?
10:30Will there be that kind of optics similar to what we saw with the European Union Commission
10:36president here in Delhi for a public day celebration and then the massive celebration which followed?
10:42Well, it's the other way around.
10:47In fact, the question by Rohit is very important because he spoke about Quad and the Quad leadership
10:53summit is to take place in New Delhi in India.
10:56And everybody is waiting for a confirmation from the U.S. president or the U.S. side.
11:01So should things work the way they should or they ought to?
11:06And if there is a timeline in place, we could very well see India finally hosting the Quad
11:11leaders summit and President Trump coming to India and not probably a trade deal will
11:16be signed then.
11:17But you never know.
11:18He could travel before that to the United States of America.
11:21Who's to say?
11:22But India is looking forward to maybe hosting the Quad leaders summit should President Trump
11:27agree.
11:27Yeah, so I think that messaging and that question that was asked by Rohit actually about the
11:33future of Quad becomes important.
11:36And he said that Quad didn't go anywhere else.
11:38It was very much there.
11:39So clear indication that Quad summit, the leaders summit is likely to happen.
11:46That's also on card.
11:48Karishma, while we look at the details and wait for the details now, perhaps that's going
11:52to happen tomorrow.
11:53There could be a press conference by Commerce Minister.
11:56But first, details will be shared by the Treasury benches with the Parliament because the Parliament
12:05is in session.
12:08Mara, the fine print is going to be the most important detail like you've already mentioned
12:13because it's very important for us to now assess that besides the fact that is it going
12:21to be a total 18 percent tariff now only, like Ambassador has also confirmed to us exclusively.
12:27Since when is that going to kick off?
12:30What happens to the remaining percentage of it if there is going to be any exception to
12:39a particular sector?
12:41If the sticking points have finally been resolved, because let's not forget the deadlock was because
12:46of these sticking points due to which we could not come on a fine conclusion for a few months.
12:54So I think very important to watch out that once the fine print comes to the officials in India for them to study and for them to officially inform us.
13:05But what a timing for it to have also come during the time of India just a day, two days later than the 80th India's financial statement,
13:18which also gave a lot of impetus and stimulus to the exporters, especially in the sectors that we've been highly exporting to the U.S.
13:27So it looks like a back to back announcement, point to point, joining the maze.
13:35Yes. So India has sent a message that it can cushion its economy with multiple FTAs that it has signed.
13:43And perhaps the messaging that came particularly after the European Union Commission deal, Gita, the mother of all deals,
13:52something that was in the making for 18 years and finally signed,
13:56had the U.S. perhaps worried that India has managed to open up new revenues for it?
14:03Well, they were very, very keenly watching what was happening in New Delhi in terms of the EU leadership landing here
14:10and then the signing of the deal, the details and the nitty gritties.
14:15And in fact, President Trump did comment on the deal, one hailing the deal, secondly, in a way saying that
14:21and understanding the import of signing of that agreement between India and the whole of Europe.
14:27It's not just one country.
14:28It's been called mother of all the deals is because it's 27 countries combined.
14:33So we're looking at a huge number over here.
14:36Like you very rightly said, Maria, cushioning when it comes to the economy here in India
14:41with regards to the slump that you're seeing across the world and is the reason why,
14:49one of the reasons certainly why the United States of America looked at maybe expediting
14:54or maybe engaging yet again New Delhi.
14:57And that's what is happening.
14:58D.C., New Delhi engagement at the highest level and at a pace that has been in a way not seen for a very long time now.
15:07So it seems like the relations are likely to be back on track, as has been the mandate of Ambassador Gore,
15:15which is what he said on his first day, that he's here to do just that.
15:18Okay, so there has been a visible reset.
15:22Will that be fair to say, Rohit?
15:24There is a reset in the relationship.
15:29Okay, so I think Rohit is a little occupied.
15:33Geeta, would you take that question?
15:34Well, it certainly does feel like an off-ramp, which is de-escalation of the strained ties between India and the United States of America.
15:46De-escalation again, Maria, I will have to wait for the details to come out of the Ministry of External Affairs.
15:54From the Indian side, we've already put questions to officers in various quarters, various departments who look at the United States of America.
16:08And we're awaiting a response.
16:09So let's just wait for the administration to respond, because like Racheingap I was saying just a while ago, that Parliament is in session.
16:19So anything, and we're already seeing some of the opposition leaders comment on this, why were we not informed, so on and so forth.
16:26So are we going to go on zero on tariffs with the United States of America?
16:31Does that include agriculture, like Gaurav pointed out?
16:33There are so many details and finer details that we have to look into before, say, calling it a complete reset yet again.
16:42Okay, so there are a lot of details that are yet to emerge and a lot of questions that are yet to be answered.
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