"They had meetings this morning, and we've been meeting with China."
After the trade tussle, come the trade talks? Or do they? Hello and welcome to the Hook Business News Wrap. Here are the week’s top stories:
US President Donald Trump has claimed that his administration is in talks with China over the tariff dispute. This follows his suggestion that tariffs imposed on Chinese imports would "come down substantially." However, China has countered this, stating that the US should cancel the 145 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods if it is serious about resolving the issue. It also contradicted Trump’s claims, saying that no trade talks have taken place between the two countries.
More on tariffs, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he expects India to be the first country to strike a bilateral trade deal to avoid reciprocal tariffs from the Trump administration. According to the New York Post, Bessent added that trade talks with India are "very close" to reaching a successful conclusion.
Also read: India likely to be first country to sign trade deal with us: US Treasury Secretary
Further impact from the tariff dispute – Apple is planning to source all iPhones for the US market from India. According to a Financial Times report, the iPhone maker aims to shift production from China to India by next year. If successful, this move will result in over 60 million iPhones being produced in India from 2026, the report added.
Speaking of ‘Make in India’ – While there is still no clarity on American EV giant Tesla’s entry into India, Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast plans to open its manufacturing plant in India by the end of June. Last year, VinFast and the Tamil Nadu government agreed to collaborate on the company’s investment in the state.
Big news from the startup space – The Enforcement Directorate has detained Puneet Singh Jaggi, co-founder of BluSmart. According to a PTI report, the agency detained Jaggi at a Delhi hotel following raids in connection with Gensol Engineering. Puneet Singh Jaggi and his brother Anmol Singh Jaggi are also the promoters of Gensol. SEBI has accused them of financial irregularities, corporate misgovernance, and fund diversion.
Also read: BluSmart’s fall: Misused funds, angry users, and a vanishing EV vision
And before we wrap up, let’s take a quick look at the stock market. Indian equities had a strong run until Wednesday, with a streak of seven consecutive days of gains. However, things changed on Thursday, and the market began to slip, closing almost flat for the week. The Sensex ended the week below 79,000, while the Nifty dropped below 24,000.
That’s all the time we have for this weekly news wrap. Visit hook.online for our deep dives into the top business stories of the week.
