PM Modi, US VP JD Vance, hold bilateral talks with focus on trade

PM Narendra Modi interacts with US Vice President JD Vance, second Lady Usha Vance and their children, in New Delhi. Pic/PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks with US Vice President JD Vance against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations for a bilateral trade pact. The two leaders will be discussing ways to further expand India-US global strategic ties as well as New Delhi's concerns over Washington's trade policy.

After the talks, Modi will host a dinner for Vance, his Indian-origin wife Usha Chilukuri and the delegation of senior US government officials accompanying the vice president. Vance and his family landed in Delhi this morning on a four-day India visit after their trip to Italy over the weekend. He is the first US vice president to visit India in 12 years after Joe Biden visited New Delhi in 2013. Vance's first visit to India comes weeks after US President Donald Trump imposed and then paused a sweeping tariff regime against around 60 countries including India.

New Delhi and Washington are now holding negotiations to seal a bilateral trade agreement that is expected to address a variety of issues including tariff and market access. Last month, US assistant trade representative Brendan Lynch visited India and held talks with his Indian interlocutors on firming up the bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

The US president's tariff tussle has stoked fears of a global trade war. Days after announcing the reciprocal tariffs, Trump announced a 90-day pause on them for all countries, except China. Washington is also pushing New Delhi to buy more American oil, gas and military platforms to bring down the trade deficit that stands at around USD 45 billion in India's favour. The US was the largest trading partner of India with overall bilateral trade in goods and services amounting to $190 billion for calendar year 2023.

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