Confirmed, Trump to attend ‘Howdy, Modi’

New Delhi, September 16

India and the US are racing to reach a trade deal that could serve as the climax to a mega “Howdy, Modi” rally at Houston being arranged for Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the US President Donald Trump has agreed to attend. Intense lobbying by Indian diplomats finally led to the White House confirming Trump’s attendance during his whistle-stop tour of Texas (Houston) and Ohio (Wapakoneta) on September 22.

Even if a trade deal doesn’t materialise, sources said Trump would receive payback for his gesture as PM Modi was slated to announce Indian plans for investing in US oilfields. Though Trump doesn’t really need the Indian-American community votes for his upcoming re-election bid since Texas is a solidly Republican state with the last Democrat having won the post of Lt Governor quarter of a century back, he will be eager to use the announcement of India investing in the oil sector to underline his success in making the US the world’s leading destination of foreign direct investment.  

India and the US, meanwhile, are trying to firm up a trade deal that has bedevilled ties since Trump called India a “tariff king” for imposing “high import duties”. 

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said at a press conference that India and the US were continuously working towards resolving their trade differences but did not say whether they were close to a deal. Goyal was scheduled to visit the US to offer a package but foreign office officials here refused to comment why the tour had not materialised so far.

The US had expressed its displeasure with India’s trade surplus in bilateral trade. — TNS