India, US trade deal coming soon even as Vance claims India ‘took advantage’ of America, calls Modi tough negotiator

India-US Trade Deal: US Vice-President J D Vance has called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “tough negotiator” and accused India of taking advantage of America, while predicting that New Delhi could be among the first countries to reach a trade agreement aimed at avoiding US tariffs. The US vice president said there is a 'good negotiation' going on in India.

India is one of several countries currently negotiating with the United States to avoid high import duties announced by US President Donald Trump. Most of these tariffs are on hold for now, but a baseline tariff of 10 per cent remains in place, along with earlier 25 per cent duties on steel, aluminium and auto parts.

In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Vance said the US was “going to rebalance that relationship” with India through these talks. “Modi, the Prime Minister, is a tough negotiator, but we're going to rebalance that relationship, and that's why the president's doing what he's doing,” he said.


When asked on the Fox News programme ‘Special Report’ whether India would be the first country to strike a deal, Vance replied, “I don't know if it'll be your first deal, I think it would be among the first deals for sure. Pretty soon the President — look, we've got negotiations with Japan, with Korea, we've got negotiations going on with some folks in Europe, and obviously we've got a good negotiation going on in India.”

Trump had announced a broad range of reciprocal tariffs against countries including India and China on April 2. But on April 9, he temporarily suspended the new tariffs for 90 days — until July 9 — for most countries, except China and Hong Kong. According to the US, about 75 countries have since come forward to discuss trade deals with Washington.

Vance said Trump’s aim was to make trade fairer for American producers. “What the President has said is, we just want to rebalance trade. So some of the conversations I've had in India, for example, I think most Americans may not know, may not appreciate this, we have great agricultural products,” he said.

“Our farmers are making great things, but the Indian market is effectively closed off to American farmers. So what that means is that it makes American farmers and American consumers more reliant on foreign competitors to grow the food that we eat,” Vance said.

He added, “What our India deal will do, fundamentally, I think, is open up India to American technology. It will open up India to American farmers. It will create more good American jobs. And it's the kind of trade deal that Donald Trump loves.”

“He's not anti-trade. He's anti-unfair trade. He's not entirely the kind of trade where foreign competitors take advantage of us — the Indians, let's be honest, they've taken advantage of us for a very long time,” the US Vice-President said.

Vance’s comments come as officials from New Delhi and Washington hold talks to finalise a trade agreement that was discussed during Modi’s February visit to the US. The expected pact will cover a range of issues including tariff structures and market access.