WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on Thursday to start talks to clinch an early trade deal and resolve their standoff over tariffs as New Delhi promised to buy more US oil, gas and military equipment.
The series of agreements emerged, just hours after Trump railed against the climate for US businesses in India and unveiled a roadmap for reciprocal tariffs on countries that put duties on US imports.
The personal equation between the two leaders, however, kept the bitterness at bay when Modi entered the White House in the afternoon. Trump warmly welcomed the PM with a long handshake and a bear hug and described Modi as a “great friend” for a long time and a “terrific” man. “We missed you. We missed you a lot,” Trump said as he greeted a beaming Modi.
The deal to resolve trade concerns could be done within the next seven months, said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. While both leaders “had their perspectives” on tariffs, “what is more remarkable…is the fact that we have a way forward on this issue,” Misri said.
A joint statement after the meeting said Washington welcomed New Delhi’s recent steps to lower tariffs on select US products and increase market access to US farm products, while seeking to negotiate the initial segments of a trade deal by the fall of 2025.
Some of the leaders’ agreements are aspirational: India wants to increase by “billions of dollars” its purchases of US defence equipment and may make Washington the “number one supplier” of oil and gas, Trump said at a joint press conference with Modi. India’s energy purchases from the US could go up to $25 billion in the near future from $15 billion last year, Misri said, adding that this could contribute to reducing the trade deficit.
And Delhi wants to double trade with Washington to $500 billion by 2030, Modi said. Long-planned cooperation on nuclear energy, also discussed by the leaders, faces ongoing legal challenges.
“We’re also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters,” said Trump. Misri later said the F-35 deal was a proposal at this point, with no formal process underway.
Trump said after talks with Modi that India will buy more oil, gas and military hardware from America to bring down the trade deficit while asserting that Washington will not spare New Delhi from reciprocal tariffs.
In his remarks, Trump said he and Modi have reached an agreement that could potentially make the US the “number one supplier” of oil and gas to India, suggesting it was part of measures to bring down the US trade deficit with India that stands at around $ 50 billion.
The US president also noted positive momentum in India-US cooperation in the civil-nuclear energy sector. “In the ground-breaking development for the US nuclear industry, India is also reforming laws to welcome US nuclear technology to the Indian market,” he said.
In his remarks, Prime Minister Modi said cooperation between India and the US can shape a better world. A defence cooperation framework will be prepared for the next decade, he said. On the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, Trump said both sides agreed to work to help build one of “greatest trade routes” in history globally.
Modi also vowed to protect India’s interests. “One thing that I deeply appreciate, and I learn from President Trump, is that he keeps the national interest supreme,” Modi said. “Like him, I also keep the national interest of India at the top of everything else.”
The U.S. has a $45.6 billion trade deficit with India. Overall, the U.S. trade-weighted average tariff rate has been about 2.2%, according to World Trade Organization data, compared with India’s 12%.
Some observers said the meeting was largely symbolic, with little substantive progress on trade disputes. However, it acknowledged that both leaders used the opportunity to reinforce their commitment to strategic ties and shared geopolitical interests.
Source: The Financial Express
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