Donald Trump says India has proposed a trade deal that imposes "no tariffs" on American goods, as New Delhi pushes for an agreement during the 90-day pause on reciprocal levies.
The US president has also criticised Apple's plans to invest in India, which were unveiled after his so-called 'liberation day' tariffs were confirmed.
"It is very hard to sell in India, and they are offering us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariffs," Mr Trump said in a meeting with executives in the Qatari capital Doha.
Reuters reported that New Delhi has offered to reduce duties to zero on 60 per cent of tariff lines, in a first phase of the deal with Washington.
The news agency also reported that India has offered preferential access to nearly 90 per cent of the merchandise India imports from the US.
In a statement to local news agencies, Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar said talks were ongoing and "nothing is decided till everything is".
Trump unhappy with Apple
Meanwhile, Mr Trump said he had confronted Apple CEO Tim Cook about plans to shift production of iPhone out of the US to India.
The American company plans to manufacture most of its iPhones sold in the US at factories in India by the end of 2026, and is looking at speeding up that plan to navigate potentially higher levies in China.
"Tim, we treated you very good, we put up with all the plants you built in China for years … we are not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well, we want you to build here", Mr Trump recalled himself telling Mr Cook, who was not in the Doha meeting.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in recent years promoted India as a smartphone manufacturing hub and Apple's suppliers have ramped up production in the country.
In March, Apple's main India suppliers Foxconn and Tata shipped nearly $2 billion worth of iPhones to the US, an all-time high, to bypass the Trump administration's impending tariffs.
The United States is India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade totalling some $US129 billion ($200b) in 2024. The trade balance is currently in favour of India, which runs a $US45.7 billion ($71b) surplus with the US.
India's trade minister Piyush Goyal will lead a trade delegation to the US starting on May 16 to advance trade negotiations, two government officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
India has some of the world's highest tariffs on imports, and Trump has previously called India a "tariff abuser".
ABC/wires
