By: RadhakrishnaNS
US president Donald Trump vowed on Monday (24) to boost trade ties between the US and India, and said the US was prepared to supply India with defence equipment ranging from drones to helicopters and missile systems.
Trump added the two countries will sign deals to on Tuesday (25) sell military helicopter deals worth $3 billion and that the US must become the premier defence partner of India, which relied on Russian equipment since the Cold War.
We look forward to providing the “best and most feared military equipment” to India, said Trump, while addressing a crowd of more than 100,000 people at a stadium in the western state of Gujarat, shortly after arriving on his maiden visit to the country.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi embraced Trump as he stepped off Air Force One, along with his wife, Melania.
Trump said he looked forward to expanding space cooperation between the two nations, and said both sides were at the early stages of reaching an “incredible” trade agreement.
“As we continue to build our defence cooperation, the US looks forward to providing India with some of the best and most feared military equipment on the planet,” Trump said.
The two sides did not manage to hammer out a trade deal ahead of the visit, with differences remaining over agriculture, medical devices, digital trade and proposed new tariffs. Trump said he was going to discuss economic ties with Modi, describing him as a tough negotiator.
“We will be making very, very major, among the biggest ever made, trade deals. We are in the early stages of discussion for an incredible trade agreement to reduce barriers of investment between the US and India,” he said.
“And I am optimistic that working together, the prime minister and I can reach a fantastic deal that’s good and even great for both of our countries- except that he is a very tough negotiator.”
The two sides have been arguing over US demands for access to India’s poultry and dairy markets, Indian price controls on medical devices such as stents, and stringent local data storage rules that US technology firms say will raise the cost of doing business.
Modi’s government has sought restoration of trade concessions Trump withdrew in 2019 and greater access to US markets for Indian pharmaceutical and farm products.
