All eyes on Modi’s meet with Trump amid tariff threats
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday headed to Washington where he will meet US President Donald Trump for the first time since his inauguration to the White House.
The twin issues of reciprocal tariffs and the US crackdown on illegal migration are expected to figure in the talks, which come close on the heels of Trump announcing plans for 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports. The US is the top aluminium export market for India.
The PM’s visit from February 12 to 14 also comes amid outrage over illegal Indian migrants being sent home
by the United States in shackles on a military plane. While India will look to avert
any tariff battle situation with the US, Trump is expected to take up the renewal of defence cooperation framework for the next 10 years. Modi is expected to meet Trump on Thursday, with the issue of trade deficit highly likely to come up. The bilateral trade between India and the US surpassed $118 billion in the last financial year and India clocked a $32 billion surplus. Trump, while flagging India’s high tariffs, recently called the nation a “very big abuser”.
The Modi government took pre-emptive steps to avoid any trade conflict with the US as Finance Minister, in the Budget, announced import duty cuts, including on US bikes Harley-Davidson.
The PM would look to raise the manner of deportation of the illegal migrants. He has already said he looked forward to meeting “friend President Trump” and “has warm recollections of working with him in the first presidential term”.
