Trump says trade deal with India soon, calls PM ‘nicest-looking’ & ‘tough guy’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Washington was “doing a trade deal with India”, while praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “nicest-looking guy” and “tough as hell”. He also reiterated his claim that he “stopped a war” between India and Pakistan earlier this year by leveraging trade negotiations with both countries.

"I'm doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love for PM Modi. We have a great relationship," Trump said while speaking at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea.

Referring to the India-Pakistan skirmish earlier this year, Trump said he had told PM Modi that the US could not move ahead with a trade deal while India was “starting a war” with Pakistan.

The US President said the intervention helped calm tensions following India’s precision strikes on terror camps inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). “After literally two days, they (India and Pakistan) called up and said, 'We understand', and they stopped fighting,” he said, describing Modi as the “nicest-looking guy, a killer & tough as hell” and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir as a “fighter”.

The conflict, which unfolded between May 7 and 10 under what India called Operation Sindoor, saw the most serious escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours since Balakot. It ended after the two sides’ military operations chiefs held a hotline conversation and agreed to a ceasefire at Pakistan's request.

Relations between New Delhi and Washington have not been that bright after the US move to impose punitive tariffs of up to 50 per cent on certain Indian goods, including an additional 25 per cent levy over New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. New Delhi had described the US action as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".

Just last week, Trump had said that PM Modi assured him over a phone call that New Delhi would stop buying oil from Russia — a claim flatly denied by India. Now Trump stating that he is "doing a trade deal" along with heaps of praises for PM Modi has been taken on a positive note in New Delhi.

A potential trade deal with the US could improve the export environment and help offset some of the external headwinds.

Returning from his Europe tour, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said a good deal should be done and it should be beneficial for both parties when asked about the deadline of the negotiations.

"We never negotiate with deadlines... We get guidance from leaders, but guidance doesn't mean you just do whatever you have to do and then finish it. A good deal should be done, beneficial for both parties... It could be done in December or November," Goyal said.