Vance meets Modi as India seeks reprieve from tariffs
NEW DELHI: US Vice President JD Vance held trade talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday (April 21) as the South Asian nation looks to strike an early deal with Washington that spares it from President Donald Trump's additional tariff hikes.
The White House said in a statement that the talks yielded "significant progress in the negotiations' for a bilateral trade agreement, and that the sides had finalised a roadmap for a possible deal to reduce the tariff burden.
The pair also discussed cooperation in defence, critical technologies and energy, the Prime Minister's office said in a statement. The two leaders "called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward' after discussing regional and global security issues, the statement said.
"India's constructive engagement so far has been welcomed and I look forward to creating new opportunities for workers, farmers, and entrepreneurs in both countries,' US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
The meeting included bilateral talks between Vance and Modi, a larger meeting with staff and a dinner with the vice president's wife Usha Vance and their three children. A video released by the prime minister's office showed Vance's sons in traditional kurta pajamas and Modi gifting the children peacock feathers.
Modi also said he looks forward to a visit by Trump to India later this year, referring to an invitation he conveyed to the American president during his visit to Washington in February.
The meeting caps the first day of a four-day visit to India by Vance and his family, a trip that underscores India's importance among countries seeking trade talks with the US during the 90-day pause on Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs. Following the dinner, Vance departed New Delhi for Jaipur.
The US has threatened to slap a 26 per cent tariff on Indian exports - up from a baseline ten per cent covering exports from all nations - if no deal is reached during the tariff pause that stretches until July.
Trump administration officials have named India as one of several countries the US is prioritising negotiations with during the pause, and hopes are running high in New Delhi that the country can secure a quick agreement.
During a visit by Modi to the White House in February, the two sides said they planned to conclude the first tranche of a bilateral trade deal by the fall of this year. India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is in Washington this week and plans to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to advance the talks. India's chief trade negotiator will also visit the US this week.
Modi has sought to pave the way for a deal with the US in recent months by slashing Indian tariffs on a range of American goods, agreeing to buy more US exports and accepting undocumented migrants sent back from the US.
Vance and his family arrived in New Delhi on Monday morning following a three-day trip to Italy, where the vice president met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He also met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, just a day before the pontiff's death.
In New Delhi, the Vance family was greeted at the airport by Indian officials before setting off for a visit to a Hindu temple. Interest in the family runs high in India, given that Usha Vance is a daughter of Indian immigrants from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Vance's visit will also include a bit of softer diplomacy, with the vice president's family set to make stops at cultural sites in Jaipur and Agra, home of the Taj Mahal.
The US has long sought to cultivate a deeper partnership with India, in large part as a bulwark against China. India, meanwhile, has sought greater US investment and deeper cooperation in technology-sharing and defence.
The South Asian country is also hoping to lure investment from White House adviser Elon Musk. The Tesla Inc. chief executive indicated he'd visit India later this year after speaking last week with Modi, signaling potential progress in the electric carmaker's long-pending push into the world's most-populous country. - Bloomberg
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