India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that the two countries have set the lofty goal of doubling their trade to $500 billion by 2030.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, DC, after meeting with US President Donald Trump, Modi stressed the importance of a trade deal that benefits both countries. Both countries hope to finalize this deal soon.
“By 2030, we want to have greater than doubled our trade between the two countries to $500 billion.”Our teams will work on concluding a mutually beneficial trade agreement very soon,” PM Modi said. In addition, he talked about working together on AI, semiconductors, and making supply chains stronger for important minerals.
The announcement comes at a time when tariffs are still causing problems, and President Trump is reaffirming his support for fair trade. Trump was glad that India recently lowered its tariffs on US goods, but he stressed how important it was to fix trade imbalances. During his speech, he reaffirmed that his administration was committed to creating a level playing field and said that the US would implement a policy of reciprocal tariffs.
“It’s very hard to sell into India because of their strong trade barriers and high tariffs,” said Trump. In our new system of reciprocal tariffs, we will charge India the same amount that they charge us. It’s a fair approach for the American people.”
Trump said that those efforts to get India to lower its tariffs during his first term were unsuccessful. According to the new policy, the US will just match India’s tariff rates, so there will be no need for long negotiations. “We’ll make it easy for you by charging whatever you want.”
“Then what they set won’t matter anymore,” he said. Even though trade problems were happening, both leaders reaffirmed their desire to strengthen economic ties. According to Trump, the trade deficit between the US and India could be fixed by sending more energy products, especially oil and gas, to India.
