United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday (US local time) said that the US and India will resume negotiations to address “trade barriers” between the two countries.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote, “I am pleased to announce that India and the United States of America are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations. I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries!”
The announcement comes weeks after the US imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, including an additional 25 per cent penalty on purchases of Russian oil.
Earlier this week, President Trump, while making an announcement in the White House, called the India-US ties a “very special relationship” and affirmed that he and PM Modi would always be friends, asserting that there is “nothing to worry about”.
However, he expressed displeasure over what “he (PM Modi) is doing” in contemporary times.
When asked by ANI, “Are you ready to reset relations with India at this point?”, US President Trump said, “I always will. I’ll always be friends with (PM) Modi. He’s a great Prime Minister. I’ll always be friends, but I just don’t like what he is doing at this particular moment. But India and the United States have a very special relationship. There is nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion.”
The US President also responded to his post on Truth Social, where he called out losing ‘India and Russia to China’, saying that he does not think that has happened.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday also responded warmly to Trump’s affirmation of the India-US ties, saying he “deeply appreciates and fully reciprocates” the US President’s sentiments and positive assessment of the bilateral relations.
In a post on X, PM Modi noted India-US ties as “forward-looking” towards a “Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership”.
“Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties. India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership,” the Prime Minister stated in his post. (ANI)
