Prime Minister Narendra Modi will start his two-day working visit to the US on Wednesday, during which he will hold a bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump. This visit will provide further direction and momentum to the “important partnership” between the two countries.
The visit will offer a “valuable opportunity” to engage with the new administration on various areas of mutual interest, according to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, reported PTI. PM Modi will also engage with business leaders and the Indian community in the US.
The prime minister is set to hold bilateral meetings with President Trump. A range of bilateral issues, along with discussions on regional and international matters, are expected to be addressed.
“There is an obvious convergence of interests between the two countries in a number of areas — trade, investment, technology, defence cooperation, counterterrorism, Indo-Pacific security, and of course, people-to-people relations,” Misri said in the briefing.
It is noteworthy that President Donald Trump has announced plans to implement, tariffs on the country’s three largest trading partners, with more expansive tariffs expected in the coming days. While India has avoided tariffs from the Trump administration so far, Trump recently warned of reciprocal tariffs on countries with tariffs on US goods, including India.
In response, India is reportedly reviewing its trade policies to encourage more trade with the US and potentially avoid such tariffs, according to Reuters reports.
US-India Trade Partnership
Additionally, as per a CNN report as of 2024, the US is India’s largest trading partner, with nearly $120 billion in trade, while India ranks 10th on the list of US trading partners. Mexico, Canada, and China hold the top three positions, with a combined trade total of over two trillion dollars. Bilateral trade between the US and India reached a record $129.2 billion in 2024.
As President Trump plans to impose 25 per cent tariffs on the US’s top two trade partners, Mexico and Canada, and with a 10 per cent tariff already in place on Chinese goods, experts suggest India could capitalise on these strained trade relations by increasing exports of technology, electronics, and jewellery to the US.
“The United States and India both want to enhance their economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region and blunt China’s economic primacy. The time is ripe and the incentives are in place for these two leaders to beat the odds and make a major deal,” wrote Kenneth I. Juster, former US ambassador to India, and Mark Linscott, former assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia, in a January 21 Foreign Policy article, states the report.
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Trade Deficit
The United States has consistently run a trade deficit with India, which has grown since Trump’s first term in office. In 2024, the trade deficit widened further, with the US importing $ 45.7 billion more from India than it exported there. US imports from India made up around 2.7 per cent of all imported goods last year, states the CNN report.
Trump has frequently criticised Modi’s approach to tariffs, but recent developments suggest India may be open to reducing levies. Earlier this month, India’s finance minister cut the import duty on motorcycles, benefiting US-based Harley Davidson. The US imports a variety of goods from India, including pearls, semi-precious stones, pharmaceutical products, and electrical equipment. In 2023, imports of the top five products from India to the US accounted for over $ 47 billion, reveals the report.
