In an effort to prevent new tariffs before an upcoming deadline, the US is in trade discussions with Vietnam, India and Israel, with President Donald Trump directly involved in talks with representatives from these nations, according to CNN. Trump shared on social media that Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary, Tô Lâm, suggested eliminating tariffs altogether if both countries could come to a mutual agreement.

According to a CNN report quoting a senior adviser, countries like Vietnam, India, and Israel are pushing to speed up trade negotiations, with President Donald Trump personally involved in trying to finalise separate deals before an upcoming tariff deadline. If these talks succeed, they could give Trump a way to avoid going ahead with the planned tariffs; despite mentioning a 26 per cent tariff earlier during a White House Rose Garden briefing, Trump later signed an executive order imposing a 27 per cent tariff on all Indian goods.

The annexe of the order initially mentioned a higher percentage, but it was corrected to 26 per cent the following day. While the change was small and didn’t significantly impact most exporters or Indian officials, the inconsistency did raise questions about how the rollout was handled. India wasn’t alone in seeing such revisions. Out of the 57 countries facing reciprocal tariffs, 17 others also had their rates changed, each adjusted by precisely one per cent.

Trump’s sweeping new tariffs have sparked a backlash from several sides, causing a drop in the markets, drawing threats of retaliation from other countries, and prompting criticism from U.S. businesses, the Federal Reserve chairman, and key lawmakers. U.S. markets fell for the second day on Friday after China announced 34 per cent retaliatory tariffs on American products. This development highlighted the limits of President Trump’s influence over global economic responses as his administration pushes forward with a bold and risky trade agenda.