The US President is confident that he ‘will have a trade deal with India soon’.
New Delhi/Washington: US President Donald Trump has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “nicest looking guy”, a “killer” and “tough as hell”, saying he “will have a trade deal with India soon”, as both nations move closer to sealing the framework for a new trade agreement.
Speaking at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) CEO Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, Trump reiterated his intention to strengthen economic ties with India while lauding Modi’s leadership and India’s growing global clout.
Earlier in Tokyo, while speaking at a reception and dinner with business leaders, Trump said Modi is “a very nice man, a very good man”. The US President’s remarks came during a broader speech on trade and foreign policy, where he touted his administration’s record, saying, “We stopped a lot of wars, made our country strong,” and noted that “Around the world, we are signing one trade deal after another.”
Trump also recounted his interactions with Modi during heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. “But he’s a killer -- tough as hell. He said, ‘No, we will fight.’ I said, ‘Whoa, this is the same man I know?’” Trump told the gathering. Recalling that episode, he added, “If you look at India and Pakistan, I was doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love for Prime Minister Modi. They were really going at it.”
Meanwhile, India-US trade negotiations are apparently in the final stages, with talks focused on reducing US tariffs on Indian exports, possibly cutting them to 15 per cent from the current 50 per cent.
“New Delhi continues to remain engaged with America to conclude talks on the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the US,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We continue to remain engaged with the US side to conclude a trade deal, and these discussions are continuing.”
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed bilateral ties and global issues at a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur this week. “Glad to meet @SecRubio this morning in Kuala Lumpur. Appreciated the discussion on our bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues,” Jaishankar said on X.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has also assured that India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) talks are “progressing in a cordial manner”. He, however, added that there will be “no agreement until the interests of the nation — India's farmers, India's fishermen, India's MSME sector are fully addressed.”
“I believe the talks are progressing in a very cordial atmosphere, and I have said many times that free trade agreements (FTA) or trade talks are never based on deadlines. There is no agreement unless we fully address the interests of the nation — India's farmers, India's fishermen, India's MSME sector. The talks are progressing very well. The talks are ongoing and we will definitely inform you when we reach a decision,” Goyal said.
