India-US Trade Deal Talks Advance as Trump Expresses Confidence, Invites PM Modi to Washington
US President Donald Trump said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a good friend and voiced confidence that the United States and India would reach a trade agreement.
“We will get to a deal because I like your prime minister a lot. He is a good friend of mine. We get along great, and we are gonna make a deal,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Thursday.
Responding to a question regarding the trade deal under negotiation between the two countries, Trump said India had taken advantage of US policies for years and imposed “tremendous tariffs.”
“They charged tremendous amounts of tariffs to our companies, and we didn't charge them anything,” Trump said.
A US delegation visited India earlier this week and concluded four days of negotiations on an interim bilateral agreement on Thursday.
India’s commerce ministry stated that the trade discussions were conducted in a spirit of cooperation and pragmatism, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to concluding a mutually beneficial agreement aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and economic ties.
US Optimistic About Progress in Trade Talks
The United States remains optimistic about the progress of trade negotiations with India, and a bilateral trade agreement continues to be a priority for the Trump administration.
State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, “On trade, we have been very optimistic about the progress of trade talks.”
Referring to a recent visit to India by officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Pigott also highlighted the role played by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor in advancing trade and investment relations between the two countries.
“He has also made this trade issue really important, most notably through these trade discussions, but also through bilateral investments between the two countries, including millions of dollars worth of SelectUSA investments,” Pigott said.
SelectUSA is a government programme focused on facilitating job-creating business investment into the United States.
“We're encouraged by progress on that (trade talks). I don't have a timeline here to read out to you... But of course, the conversations are ongoing. We see the officials that are there, and we see the Ambassador also having this as a priority, as the President does as well,” Pigott said.
Trump Invites Modi to Visit the United States
The United States said its strategic partnership with India remains robust and described President Donald Trump’s invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Washington as a “testament” to the “great relationship” between the two leaders and the growing ties between the two countries.
State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the strong relationship between the two countries was on full display during Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent visit to India.
“We have a robust strategic partnership with India... That was on full display during that trip, and there were real deliverables that were discussed there, including on critical minerals, including on technology,” he said.
Pigott made the remarks while responding to a question on Rubio’s visit to India during a roundtable interaction organised by the New York Foreign Press Centre with a select group of international journalists.
Discussions Cover Trade and Economic Security
According to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, an earlier USTR delegation led by its chief negotiator visited India from June 1 to 4 to advance discussions on the proposed trade agreement.
The ministry said both sides held “constructive and positive” discussions on a broad range of issues, including trade in goods, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, and economic security alignment.
Responding to a question on immigration, including concerns among Indians in the United States regarding H1B visas, Pigott noted that visa laws were being applied consistently.
“That is no longer the case. We are consistently applying visa laws across the board. I think that will offer clarity. There are no visa laws that target India. These are global visa laws that are being implemented with clarity, clear instructions that are being applied across the board,” he said.