Trump may talk to Prime Minister Modi on tariffs in a few weeks

USA/Washington (HS): President Donald J. Trump said that he intends to talk to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "in the coming weeks". He expressed hope that the two leaders will be able to reach an agreement to resolve a difficult trade dispute.

According to Bloomberg.com, Trump wrote on social media on September 9, "I am pleased to announce that India and the United States are continuing negotiations to remove trade barriers between our two countries. I look forward to speaking to my very good friend Prime Minister Modi in the coming weeks. I am confident that there will be no difficulty in reaching a successful conclusion for both our great countries!"

Trump's remarks, which positively assess the relationship between Washington and New Delhi, come at a time when the US President is pressuring European Union leaders to join him in raising tariffs on India and China to punish these countries for buying energy from Russia.

Trump told EU officials at a meeting on Tuesday that he was willing to join them if they imposed new tariffs on India and China to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to join ceasefire talks with Ukraine, sources familiar with the discussions said. The US is willing to impose tariffs similar to those imposed by Europe on the two countries, one of the sources said.

The move could further complicate Trump's efforts to resolve the trade dispute with India, which escalated last month after the US doubled tariffs on several goods imported from India to 50 per cent over India's purchase of Russian oil.

Though India was one of the first countries to begin talks on trade with Trump, the imposition of high duties on their exports surprised officials in New Delhi. US officials have expressed disappointment over Indian tariffs on imports and other non-tariff barriers.