 "During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to the US in February, the two countries vowed to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. Reuters")
US President Donald Trump has “great respect” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “feels very positive and strongly” about the India-US ties, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said.
Trump reportedly talks to PM Modi “frequently” and called the Indian prime minister during the Diwali celebrations at White House last month, Leavitt added. “We have a great US Ambassador to India in Mr Sergio Gor, who will represent our country very well,” the press secretary noted.
Talking about India-US trade ties, Leavitt noted that Trump and his team are in “very serious” discussions with India on key issues. “I know the President has great respect for Prime Minister Modi, and they speak pretty frequently,” she said.
The United States and India have completed five rounds of negotiations toward the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement. However, relations between the two nations remain strained following the Trump administration’s decision to impose a steep 50 percent tariff on Indian exports, along with an additional 25 percent import duty on purchases of Russian crude oil.
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More ShortsIndia will not rush into signing any trade agreements and will reject conditions from partner countries that restrict its trading choices, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal has said.
India has long defended its energy purchases as essential for ensuring affordable supplies and energy security, but Indian refiners are now poised to sharply curtail imports of Russian oil to comply with new US sanctions on two major Russian producers.
Trump has been speaking highly on PM Modi and India despite trade differences between the two countries. Last week, the president called PM Modi a “great looking guy” and “tough as hell”.