Modi, Vance tout progress on India-US trade deal

US Vice President JD Vance and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi touted progress in talks for a trade deal between the two countries, their offices said, as New Delhi rushes to avoid US tariffs and court Trump's administration.

Vance arrived in India earlier on Monday for a largely personal four-day visit to the country with his family, which includes visiting the Taj Mahal and making a speech in the city of Jaipur, US officials said.

The two leaders also noted continued efforts towards enhancing cooperation in energy, defence and strategic technologies, among others, a statement from Modi's office said after talks between them.

They discussed regional and global issues and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward, it said.

Statements from the Trump administration said the two countries agreed on a roadmap for further discussions on trade.

Vance's office said talks present "an opportunity to negotiate a new and modern trade agreement focused on promoting job creation and citizen well-being in both countries".

In a statement on Monday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pointed to an "serious lack of reciprocity in the trade relationship with India" that needed to be resolved.

Vance landed in New Delhi following a visit to Rome, where he held a private meeting with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday.

Modi and Vance reviewed progress in various areas of bilateral cooperation outlined in February when the Indian leader met President Donald Trump in Washington, their offices said. It includes "fairness" in their two-way trade and growing their defence partnership.

'NEED PACT WITH LARGEST TRADE PARTNER'

The Indian prime minister was one of the first world leaders to meet Trump after he took office, and Reuters has reported that his government is open to cutting tariffs on more than half of its imports from the US, which were worth a total $41.8 billion in 2024, as part of a trade deal.

However, the US president has continued to call India a "tariff abuser" and "tariff king".

The US is India's largest trading partner and their bilateral trade reached $129 billion in 2024, with a $45.7 billion surplus in favour of India, US government trade data show.

Officials in New Delhi are expecting to clinch a trade deal with the US within the 90-day pause on tariff hikes announced by Trump on April 9 for major trading partners. A wide swathe of Delhi's goods exports face a levy of over a quarter of their value under the new measures. A 10 per cent blanket duty on many US imports remains in effect.

India hopes to "positively conclude" the first part of the trade pact by this autumn, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in San Francisco on Monday as she started on a trip packed with engagements between the two nations.

"The long and short of engaging with the US is not just for this reciprocal tariff-related matter, but in the interest of... our largest trading partner with whom we need to have an agreement," Sitharaman said in an address to the Indian diaspora.

Vance's tour in India is also seen as laying the ground for Trump's visit to the country later in the year for the summit of leaders of the Quad grouping that includes India, Australia, Japan and the US.

Harsh Pant, foreign policy head at the Observer Research Foundation think tank in Delhi, said the timing of Vance's visit was critical against the backdrop of trade talks.

"The fact that the US-China tensions are ramping up, and Vance in particular seems to have taken a very high-profile role in American diplomacy, also means that the visit assumes an added layer of significance," he said.