India will lose its trade privileges with the US as a beneficiary of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) next Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced Friday.

"I have determined that India has not assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets," Trump said, Deutsche Welle reports

"Accordingly, it is appropriate to terminate India's designation as a beneficiary developing country effective June 5, 2019," the statement added.

The GSP program was introduced more than 40 years ago, in 1976, to promote economic growth in developing countries, allowing the export of certain products from these nations to the US duty-free.

The Indian government dubbed Trump's move "unfortunate" but said that it will continue to seek to build strong economic ties with Washington.

"India, like the US and other nations shall always uphold its national interest in these matters," the government said in a statement on Saturday. New Delhi said that it viewed the issue as part of its ongoing economic relationship with the US and "will continue to build on our strong ties with the US, both economic and people-to-people."

"We are confident that the two nations will continue to work together intensively for further growing these ties in a mutually beneficial manner," it added.