PNN – As US President Donald Trump’s Vice President JD Vance makes his second trip to New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to show that he can evade the threat of heavy US tariffs.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing the New York Times, India is seeking to show it can avoid the heavy tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, as Washington seeks to create a new order in global trade, with the country’s vice president beginning a four-day visit to India on Monday.
Senior Indian officials and some analysts see Vance’s presence in India as a sign that the United States intends to continue working towards the bilateral trade agreement that Trump and Modi outlined in February.
Happymon Jacob, associate professor of diplomacy and disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said: This is a very important meeting, and it comes at a time when there is international unease about what the Trump administration has done to friendly countries, including India. This meeting is to reassure India that the relationship will not go completely astray.
In recent years, India has sought to make its relationship with the United States a pillar of its foreign policy strategy, as the US administration looks to India to help counter China.
But New Delhi has found itself in an uncertain situation with Trump’s return to power. The US president has praised Modi’s premiership while berating the Indian government for high tariffs that make it difficult for American companies to enter the market.
Trump has accused India of abusing tariffs, describing it as the “tariff king.” Before Trump’s 90-day reprieve from retaliatory tariffs, Indian exports to the United States faced duties of 27 percent, a figure calculated based on the size of the U.S. trade deficit with India.
Vance, who, like Trump, is known for his harsh words against American allies, appeared to have a different approach to European allies when he arrived in New Delhi on Monday, interacting with Indian officials and meeting with Modi at the prime minister’s residence on Monday evening.
According to a statement from Modi’s office, the two leaders welcomed the significant progress in negotiations to reach a “mutually beneficial” trade agreement.
India has adopted a conciliatory stance, reducing tariffs on some American imports, as it pursues negotiations with the United States, its largest trading partner and largest export market.
In February, when Modi and Trump met in Washington, they hammered out a trade deal that aims for $500 billion (more than double the current amount) in bilateral trade by 2030.
The overall plan involves many trade-offs. The US will sell and manufacture more of the defense equipment India needs to patrol its borders. India will buy more crude oil and liquefied natural gas from the US and will crack down more vigorously on illegal immigration. The US will continue to support security in the Indo-Pacific region.
The cooperation agreement, known as the Quad, which includes Japan, Australia, India and the United States, is particularly important to India, which has long been concerned about China’s influence in the region, including in vital waterways. Trump is expected to visit India in the fall to attend a meeting of the group.
On Monday, China’s Ministry of Commerce warned other countries that Beijing firmly opposes any party reaching an agreement with the United States to the detriment of China.
A spokesman for the ministry said: If this happens, China will never accept it and will resolutely take countermeasures. In order to achieve personal and temporary interests, if someone wants to obtain something called “immunity” by harming the interests of others, it is like “negotiating with a tiger for its skin.”