In a subtle rebuff to China, Modi, Vance welcome 'significant progress' in negotiations for India-US trade deal

New Delhi: Even as Beijing warned nations against succumbing to pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration in Washington, D.C., Prime Minister Narendra Modi and American Vice President J D Vance on Monday welcomed “significant progress” in the negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States.

Modi had a meeting with Vance at his official residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi. They welcomed the “significant progress in the negotiations for a mutually beneficial India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement focused on the welfare of the people of the two countries”, according to a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office after the meeting.

The meeting took place amid concerns in New Delhi over Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” on the US imports from India.

Vance was accompanied by his Indian American wife, Usha Vance (née Chilukuri), and the couple’s children, Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel, during his visit to the prime minister’s official residence. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and top officials of the Government of India attended the meeting between the prime minister and the US vice president. Vance was also accompanied by the senior officials of the US government.

“We are committed to mutually beneficial cooperation, including in trade, technology, defence, energy and people-to-people exchanges,” Modi posted on X after his meeting with Vance. “India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership will be a defining partnership of the 21st Century for a better future of our people and the world.”

The prime minister hosted a dinner for the second family of the US.

“It was an honour to see Prime Minister Modi this evening. He’s a great leader, and he was incredibly kind to my family. I look forward to working under President Trump’s leadership to strengthen our friendship and cooperation with the people of India," Vance posted on X.

The acknowledgement of progress in the negotiations for the trade deal from the top echelons of the governments in New Delhi and Washington, D.C., came just days after Beijing suggested that China and India should stand together against the “abuse of tariffs” by the US. President Xi Jinping’s government on Monday also warned nations against entering into any trade deal with the US at the expense of the interests of China.

Trump’s moves to impose high tariffs on China’s exports to the US and Beijing’s retaliatory measures targeting the US exports to China triggered fears of a global trade war.

Modi and Vance also noted “continued efforts towards enhancing cooperation in energy, defence, strategic technologies and other areas”. They exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The prime minister recalled his meeting with the US president in Washington, D.C., last month. “We reviewed the fast-paced progress following my visit to the US and meeting with President Trump,” he wrote on X after the meeting with the American Vice President. He noted that his meeting with the US president at the White House had laid down the roadmap for close cooperation between the two nations, leveraging the strengths of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) doctrine and his government’s vision for turning India into ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

Modi and Trump, on February 13, agreed to negotiate a trade agreement. They set the target to conclude negotiations, at least for the first part of the agreement, by fall 2025. Trump, however, continued his rants on India’s high tariffs on exports from the US.

The US goods imports from India totalled $87.4 billion in 2024, 4.4 per cent or $3.7 billion more than in 2023. India imported goods worth $41.75 billion from the US in 2024. India was the destination of 2.02 per cent of exports in 2024. The US goods trade deficit with India was $45.6 billion in 2024, an increase of $2.3 billion (5.3%) over 2023.

New Delhi purportedly conveyed to Washington, D.C. that it was willing to consider slashing tariffs on 55 per cent of the US exports to India, worth about $23 billion.

Trump, however, issued his Executive Order on Reciprocal Tariffs on April 2, imposing additional ad-valorem duties ranging from 10 per cent to 50 per cent on imports from all trading partners. The baseline duty of 10 per cent came into effect from April 5, and the remaining country-specific additional ad-valorem duty will be effective from April 9. The executive order imposed an additional duty of 27 per cent on India’s exports to the US.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington, D.C., last month and discussed ways to expedite the negotiations for the bilateral trade deal. Brendan Lynch, US Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, later visited New Delhi to set the stage for negotiations to start.

The Vances visited the Akshardham Temple soon after landing in New Delhi, with their children in traditional attire of India. They will visit Jaipur and Agra on Tuesday and Wednesday before returning to the US on Thursday.