US Vice President JD Vance meets PM Modi, talks to focus on trade deal

US Vice President JD Vance, who is in India on a four-day visit, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a closed-door meeting today. The meeting between the two leaders came at a time when the world is facing uncertainty over the US-China trade war. The meeting, which followed delegation-level talks, comes as India and the US are in the midst of negotiations to seal a bilateral trade deal that would benefit both countries. President Trump, who had imposed a 26 per cent tariff on Indian products from 10 per cent, has “temporarily suspended” the new “reciprocal” duties for 90 days, which economists see as a window for finalising a “successful” trade deal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President JD Vance welcomed the progress in talks on the India-US bilateral trade deal, a government statement said. India and the US enjoy a unique partnership. And being the largest and oldest democracies, they are widely seen as the guardians of the democratic world. The White House has said the Trump administration has prioritized its relationship with India and wants to hammer out a trade deal that could ease the impact of the trade war with the world’s largest goods producer, China. While a trade deal was expected by the fall, Indian leaders have said the priority is to complete it by the end of July.

However, India has made it clear that it will not rush into a deal or force a deal “on the spur of the moment.” New Delhi has said that a deal will only happen if India’s concerns are taken into account. Bloomberg reports that an unnamed official in New Delhi said that soon after the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and J.D. Vance, regional trade talks will be held this week. The report also claimed that a new target of concluding trade talks by the end of May could be set. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who will soon arrive in Washington for the IMF meeting, will hold extensive talks with senior US officials there to finalize the India-US trade deal.

India is expecting a significant increase in US investment in technology, manufacturing, automobiles and energy. Last week, tech billionaire Elon Musk, who owns electric vehicle giant Tesla and satellite internet firm Starlink, spoke to Prime Minister Modi on a phone call. He later indicated that he would visit India later this year. This indicates the possibility of Tesla entering the Indian market, where the companies are currently not present. Last month, India and the US took a major step forward in their civil-nuclear cooperation. The US Department of Energy gave final approval to a US company to jointly design and build nuclear power plants in India.

The US firm that received the license was Holtec International. The global energy firm is owned and promoted by Indian-American entrepreneur Krishna P Singh. Its wholly-owned Asian subsidiary, Holtec Asia, has been operating since 2010 and is headquartered in Pune, where it also has a dedicated engineering division. It also has a manufacturing plant in Dahej, Gujarat, located in Bharuch district. Reports say that US companies are also looking to invest in India to expand their production range for gadgets like laptops, tablets and mobile devices. The aim of the US companies is to reduce their dependence on China. India has emerged as a viable alternative in this sector. India is already among the global leaders in mobile manufacturing.

In addition to reviewing the progress on the bilateral trade agreement, Prime Minister Modi and Vice President Vance discussed ways to enhance cooperation between India and the US in defence and strategic technologies, an Indian government statement said. Working together in the energy sector was also discussed in detail, the report said. However, the statement did not elaborate on what was discussed in terms of defence cooperation. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump had offered India the US's F-35 stealth fighter jets. It is not yet known whether that was included in the talks. When Prime Minister Modi and President Trump met in February, the two leaders also discussed cooperation in the areas of missile technology and undersea systems.

The US has already upgraded India to a major defence partner through Strategic Trade Authorisation-1. This puts India on par with all of the US's NATO allies. In his meeting with JD Vance today, Prime Minister Modi recalled his visit to Washington DC in January and the fruitful discussions he had with President Trump. This was a blueprint for closer cooperation between India and the US, leveraging the strengths of Make America Great Again (MAGA) and Vixit Bharat 2047.