Donald Trump is confident that Washington and New Delhi will reach a trade agreement soon. Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ‘good friend’, the US President spotlighted what he described as a reversal in the trade dynamics between the two countries.
“For years, India took advantage of the United States,” Trump said on Thursday. “They charged us tremendous tariffs and paid nothing. Now it is the exact reverse and we are making a lot of money with India.”
“But we will get to a deal because I like your Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] a lot. He is a good friend of mine, and we get along well. We have a good relationship,” Trump said.
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His remarks came as India and the US renewed efforts to finalise a bilateral trade deal after fresh talks in New Delhi. A four-day visit by United States Trade Representative (USTR) officials from June 1-4 helped push the trade discussions ahead, according to a government statement.
Officials from both sides held talks on a range of issues, including market access, non-tariff barriers, customs procedures, trade facilitation measures and economic security cooperation.
The US this week flagged 60 economies, including India, for failing to effectively curb imports made with forced labour. This could lead to trade action.
India is among 54 economies named by Washington, alongside countries such as Australia, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UK and the UAE.
“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field,” US trade representative ambassador Jamieson Greer said.
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Russian oil waiver under review
The India-US trade talks are taking place as Washington reviews a waiver that allows countries, including India, to buy Russian oil. US’ state secretary Marco Rubio told Congress that the exemption was meant to be temporary.
“We would like to end it as soon as we possibly can because the underlying policy of this country has been to sanction their oil. These are time-limited waivers for the purpose of opening up more global supply,” Rubio said Wednesday.
Introduced in March and extended twice, the waiver is set to expire on June 17. Rubio said any decision on extending it further would be taken by the US treasury department.
The waiver was granted to ease disruptions in global energy supplies caused by the US-Israeli war in West Asia and restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz. India resumed buying Russian oil under the exemption after energy supplies from the Gulf region were affected.
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India’s oil imports and tariff dispute
Russian oil purchases have also featured in trade discussions between New Delhi and Washington.
Earlier, Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports, accusing India of helping finance Russia’s war in Ukraine through its oil purchases. The tariff was later removed after India committed to stopping imports of Russian oil, according to a White House fact sheet.
“President Trump agreed to remove the additional 25% tariff on imports from India in recognition of India’s commitment to stop purchasing Russian Federation oil. Accordingly, the President signed an Executive Order last Friday removing that additional 25% tariff,” the White House document said.
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