Difficult talks with many nations cast doubt on next week’s deadline. “We can do whatever we want,” Trump said.

India's equity benchmarks are likely to open higher on Wednesday following U.S. President Donald Trump's remark that the world's largest economy could reach a trade deal with India. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that both nations are nearing an agreement that would help India avoid sharp tariff increases.

Mr Rossow says the "second issue is India's non-tariff barriers. Issues like India's growing set of 'Quality Control Orders' (QCO) are significant obstacles to US market access and may prove tricky to meaningfully handle in a trade deal".