US President Donald Trump’s maiden presidential visit to India is just days away and one of the most talked about issues has been whether or not the two countries will strike a trade deal.
In his commencement address at the Hope for Prisoners Graduation Ceremony in Las Vegas , Trump said, “We're going to India, and we may make a tremendous deal there.”
But the US leader also indicated that talks may derail if he did not get a good deal from India. "Maybe we'll slow down. We'll do it after the election. I think that could happen too. So, we'll see what happens," he said.
"But we're only making deals if they're good deals because we're putting America first. Whether people like it or not, we're putting America first," Trump added.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, are scheduled to travel to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.
Bilateral India-US trade in goods and services is about three per cent of the US' world trade while for India, the US is its second largest good export marker, after the European Union.
Also read: Packed itinerary on the cards for Trump's India tour
Trump last year re-classified India as a developed nation, rendering it ineligible to avail of trade benefits and incentives afforded to developing countries that previously gave some Indian exports tariff-free access to the US market.
The two countries have been attempting to negotiate a trade package to iron out certain issues and promote two-way commerce. India is demanding exemption from high duties imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under their GSP, and greater market access for its products from sectors such as agriculture, automobile, automobile components and engineering.
On the other hand, the US wants greater market access to its farm and manufacturing products, dairy items, medical devices, and data localisation, apart from cut on import duties on some information and communication technology products. The US has also raised concerns over the high trade deficit with India.
