India and US agree to resolve trade and tariff disputes

(CLO) India and the US have reached an agreement to start talks to resolve the trade and tariff impasse, following talks between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Thursday.

Accordingly, India pledged to buy more oil, gas and military equipment from the US and step up efforts to combat illegal immigration.

Indian Foreign Minister Vikram Misri said the trade deals would be implemented within the next seven months, with notable steps such as reducing tariffs on some US products and increasing access to US agricultural markets.

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 13. Photo: Facebook/narendramodi

The agreements between the two countries also include increased defense cooperation, with India looking to buy more military equipment from the US. Mr Trump has talked about Washington becoming India's "number one supplier of oil and gas" and hopes to help double bilateral trade between the two countries by 2030. A proposal has also been made to supply F-35 stealth fighters to India, although no formal progress has been made.

The discussions also focused on security cooperation, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, where both countries face growing competition from China. The two leaders also agreed to promote joint production of technologies such as artificial intelligence.

On immigration, Mr Trump asked India to increase cooperation in tackling illegal immigration, a growing problem, especially in the US tech industry. The two countries pledged to work more closely on law enforcement to tackle the issue.

Mr Trump had previously criticised India's high tariffs, calling them "very high" and affecting US market access. He said he would impose similar tariffs on India in response.

“We are responding to India,” Trump said at a press conference. Modi later asserted that he always put India’s national interests first, just as Trump does with the United States.

With a $45.6 billion US trade deficit with India, analysts say tariffs will continue to dominate relations between the two countries. However, according to Foreign Minister Misri, recent moves could help reduce the trade deficit, especially with increased energy imports from the US.

Hoai Phuong (according to Reuters, Dawn)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/an-do-va-my-dong-y-giai-quyet-cac-tranh-chap-thuong-mai-va-thue-quan-post334529.html