By Jasper Ward and Ismail Shakil
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is very close to a trade deal with India, while an agreement could possibly be reached with Europe as well, but it is too soon to say whether a deal can be agreed with Canada, President Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Real America’s Voice on Wednesday.
To press for what Trump views as better terms with trading partners and ways to shrink a huge U.S. trade deficit, his administration has been negotiating trade deals ahead of an August 1 deadline, when duties on most U.S. imports are due to rise again.
“We’re very close to India, and … we could possibly make a deal with (the) EU,” Trump said, when asked which trade deals were on the horizon.
Trump’s comments come as EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic was headed to Washington on Wednesday for tariff discussions, while an Indian trade delegation arrived in Washington on Monday for fresh talks.
“(The) European Union has been brutal, and now they’re being very nice. They want to make a deal, and it’ll be a lot different than the deal that we’ve had for years,” he added.
Asked about the prospects of a deal with Canada, which like the EU, is readying countermeasures if talks with the U.S. fail to produce a deal, Trump said: “Too soon to say.”
His comment was in line with the assessment of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said earlier on Wednesday that a deal that works for Canadian workers was not yet on the table.
Trump also said he would probably put a blanket 10% or 15% tariff on smaller countries.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Ismail Shakil; editing by Diane Craft)
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