US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend “Howdy, Modi!” at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, September 22, 2019.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced optimism about reaching a trade deal on Tuesday, softening rhetoric after months of friction over tariffs and Russian oil purchases.
The turnaround also came as reports emerged that Trump had asked the European Union to impose 100% tariffs on India and China over their Russian oil purchases, in a bid to put pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
Modi said negotiations with Washington would unlock the “limitless potential of the India-US partnership”. He added that both leaders will speak in the upcoming weeks.
Modi was responding to a post by Trump on Truth Social, which said that New Delhi and Washington were continuing negotiations to address the trade barriers between both nations.
“I look forward to speaking with my good friend, Prime minister Modi in the upcoming weeks,” Trump said, adding he saw “no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries”.
Relations between India and the U.S. have swung between cooperation and tension in recent months. In August, the U.S. imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, raising total duties to as high as 50%, among the highest levies on any of Washington’s trading partners.
This led to a souring of relations between New Delhi and Washington and was compounded by Modi sharing a stage with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China.
This move did not go down well with Trump, who labeled trade ties with the country “a totally one sided disaster!” He added in a post on Truth Social that India had offered to cut its tariffs to zero, but it was “getting late,” and that the country should have done so “years ago,” without elaborating on when such an offer was made.
India did not respond to these comments. But a few days later, on September 6, speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said that India and the U.S. have a special relationship and “there is nothing to worry”.
The two leaders on Tuesday expressed hopes of successful trade negotiations, even as reports emerged of Trump demanding that the EU impose punitive tariffs on India and China in a meeting on Tuesday between EU and U.S. officials.
India’s imports of Russian crude remain a sticking point. Indian officials have said in a local media interview last week that the South Asian country will continue to buy Russian oil, framing its energy choices as a matter of national interest.
During the SCO summit, Modi termed the partnership with Moscow as “special and privileged.”
New Delhi has also resisted U.S. demands to open its agricultural and dairy sectors — a key hurdle in the trade talks — arguing that such concessions would harm millions of poor farmers.
“Given India’s geopolitical heft and sizable economy, New Delhi believes that it can maintain this tough negotiating position,” said Chietigj Bajpaee, senior research fellow at Chatham House.
