Vance Modi welcome significant progress on India US trade deal

NEW DELHI – US Vice-President J.D. Vance held trade talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on April 21 as the South Asian nation looks to strike an early deal with Washington that spares it from President Donald Trump’s additional tariff hikes.

The White House said in a statement that the talks yielded “significant progress in the negotiations” for a bilateral trade agreement, and that the two sides had finalised a roadmap for a possible deal to reduce the tariff burden.

The pair also discussed cooperation in defence, critical technologies and energy, the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement. The two leaders “called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward” after discussing regional and global security issues, the statement said.

The meeting included bilateral talks between Mr Vance and Mr Modi, a larger meeting with staff and a dinner with the vice-president’s wife Usha Vance and their three children. A video released by the Prime Minister’s Office showed Mr Vance’s sons in traditional kurta pajamas and Mr Modi gifting the children peacock feathers.

Mr Modi also said he looks forward to a visit by Mr Trump to India later this year, referring to an invitation he conveyed to the American president during his visit to Washington in February.

The meeting caps the first day of a four-day visit to India by Mr Vance and his family, a trip that underscores India’s importance among countries seeking trade talks with the US during the 90-day pause on Mr Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs. Following the dinner, Mr Vance departed New Delhi for Jaipur.

The US has threatened to slap a 26 per cent tariff on Indian exports – up from a baseline 10 per cent covering exports from all nations – if no deal is reached during the