Trump, Modi Agree to Talk in Bid to Resolve Trade Impasse
President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to talk and resume trade negotiations, signaling a possible thaw after weeks of a blistering fight over tariffs and Russian oil purchases.
“I am pleased to announce that India, and the United States of America, are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations,” Trump wrote on social media Tuesday. “I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries!,” he added.
Modi responded shortly after with a post on X, saying that he was looking forward to speaking with Trump and that the US and India are “close friends and natural partners.”
“I am confident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership,” Modi said. “Our teams are working to conclude these discussions at the earliest.”
As tensions ratchet down, a team of Indian trade negotiators is discussing plans to travel to Washington in coming days, perhaps as early as next week to resume trade talks, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified as the details aren’t public.
Later in the day, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at an event that India is in active dialogue toward a trade deal with the US.
In order to agree a trade deal, New Delhi wants the US to address the 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian exports to America and the 25% additional levy imposed as a penalty for buying Russian oil, the person said.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking further information.
Trump’s comments offering a positive appraisal of relations between Washington and New Delhi come even as the US president is pressuring European Union leaders to join him in ratcheting up tariffs on India and China to punish the countries for Russian energy buys.
Trump told EU officials during a meeting earlier Tuesday that he’s prepared to join them if they impose sweeping new tariffs on India and China in a bid to raise pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to join ceasefire talks with Ukraine, according to people familiar with the discussions. The US is willing to mirror tariffs imposed by Europe on either country, one of the people said.
That move threatens to further complicate efforts to resolve Trump’s trade dispute with India, exacerbated last month by the US doubling the tariff rate on many goods from the country to 50% over India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Trump appeared to soften his rhetoric on India last week, saying there was “nothing to worry about” in ties between the two countries. Officials in New Delhi said at the time they viewed the comments with caution, and would wait for more signals from the White House.
Sonal Varma, an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc., said comments from both the leaders represent positive signals and increases the chances of India’s 50% tariff rate being lowered in coming months.
However, Trump’s willingness to impose sweeping new tariffs on India and China for buying Russian oil “suggests that the US wants the EU to initiate the next step on Russia-related pressures.” The EU and India are currently negotiating a free trade agreement, which would need to be considered in any decision around additional tariffs, she said.
Source : Bloomberg
