Despite Trump’s Visit, A U.S. -India Trade Deal Isn’t Close

Air Force One has touched down in India, thus commencing U.S. President Donald Trump’s first state visit to India. As Jeff Smith of the Heritage Foundation writes, for Washington, New Delhi continues to be a democratic lynchpin for the U.S. agenda in the Indo-Pacific.

On the president’s agenda will be meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian President Ram Nath Kovind. President Trump and the First Lady, Melania Trump (accompanied by daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner) will also travel to the Taj Mahal in Agra and to a grand reception in Ahmedabad.

NO TRADE DEAL

The optimism around the visit was earlier centered around an impending trade deal between the United States and India, a much-touted deal which didn’t come to fruition last September at the sidelines of the UNGA 2019 week.

The omens did not look good with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer canceling a scheduled visit to India, just weeks before the president’s.

However, Washington is increasingly interested in working out agreements on agricultural products and medical devices.

Both countries have been going back to the drawing board and trying to work out a trade deal in the last twelve months. But Trump himself signaled a day earlier that no such deal would be hammered out during his present visit.