Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that the United States and India have agreed to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 and will work to reach a mutually beneficial trade agreement as soon as possible.
After meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington, Modi made the comments at a press conference. Modi declared that India and the United States would work together on semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and build robust supply chains for strategic minerals.
"We have... set a target of more than doubling our bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. "Our teams will work to conclude a mutually beneficial trade agreement as soon as possible," Modi stated.
A Trump administration official earlier told reporters that US and Indian officials were also moving forward with bilateral trade talks, with the goal of reaching an agreement this year.
Trump told the news conference that India had announced a reduction in tariffs on U.S. goods and that he and Modi would begin talks on trade disparities with the goal of reaching an agreement.
He stated that the United States was entitled to a level playing field, and that the trade deficit with India could be offset by the sale of oil and gas.
Trump claimed he discussed India's high tariffs during his first term but was unable to obtain any concessions. He stated that under the new reciprocal tariffs system he announced on Thursday, the US would simply charge the same tariff rates as India did.
"It's very hard to sell into India because they have trade barriers, very strong tariffs," he added.
"Right now, we are a reciprocal nation. We are going to charge whatever India charges. Whatever another country charges, we charge them. So it's called reciprocal, which I believe is a very fair approach."
