TOI correspondent from Washington: External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met their American counterparts in New York and Washington DC respectively on Monday amid growing trust-deficit between the two countries following a series of developments both see as inimical to their interests.
Leaders of both countries have exchanged boilerplate statements and messages talking up friendship and ties even in the time of turmoil, but the outcome from the meetings — the second of which is still going on — was immediate known at the time of writing.
Jaishankar meet Rubio on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York and exchanged warm handshakes. "Good to meet @SecRubio this morning in New York. Our conversation covered a range of bilateral and international issues of current concern. Agreed on the importance of sustained engagement to progress on priority areas. We will remain in touch.“ he later posted on X, suggesting no immediate ironing out of the several wrinkles that have appeared in the relationship.
Among other things, the Trump administration is insisting that India pivot away from buying Russian oil to put pressure on Moscow to end the Ukraine war, and more recently it has withdrawn sanctions waiver on Chabahar port in Iran that New Delhi was using to circumvent Pakistan and access Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.
President Trump has also shown sudden interest in restoring American control of the Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, cryptically warning that “bad things” will happen if it is not handed back to US At the same time, the US has shown little concern over a mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that directly impacts Israel and India among other nations.
The tangled geo-political skein is complicated by the residual gap in trade issues now aggravated by the US decision to slap a $ 100,000 fee on new H1B visa petitions made outside of the US. The US sees this primarily as an immigration matter, but India has long argued that it is a trade issue since the movement of people generates economic activity and windfall for both countries.
Ahead of his arrival in Washington DC, Goyal said the two countries are "working on the right track” but US officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have complained that New Delhi is “stringing US along” with talks that are never ending. The Indian side for its part is pointing out the despite President Trump claim that there is no trade or very little trade between the two countries, USTR’s own report shows US goods and services trade with India totaled an estimated $212.3 billion in 2024, up 8.3 percent ($16.3 billion) from 2023. If it goes down in 2025, the US has itself to blame for initiating a tariff war and compounding it by suffocating travel.
According to USTR figures, total US goods trade (exports plus imports) with India was an estimated $128.9 billion in 2024. US goods exports to India in 2024 were $41.5 billion, up 3.0 percent ($1.2 billion) from 2023. US goods imports from India in 2024 totaled $87.3 billion, up 4.5 percent ($3.8 billion) from 2023. The US goods trade deficit with India was $45.8 billion in 2024, a 5.9 percent increase ($2.6 billion) over 2023.
US total services trade (exports plus imports) with India totaled an estimated $83.4 billion in 2024. US services exports to India in 2024 were $41.8 billion, up 15.9 percent ($5.7 billion) from 2023. US services imports from India in 2024 were $41.6 billion, up 15.4 percent ($5.6 billion) from 2023. The US services trade surplus with India was $102 million in 2024, compared to a services trade deficit of $76 million in 2023. The US initiated disruption in travel, business, student, and work visas is expected to affect the services trade that has been fairly even.
Leaders of both countries have exchanged boilerplate statements and messages talking up friendship and ties even in the time of turmoil, but the outcome from the meetings — the second of which is still going on — was immediate known at the time of writing.
Jaishankar meet Rubio on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York and exchanged warm handshakes. "Good to meet @SecRubio this morning in New York. Our conversation covered a range of bilateral and international issues of current concern. Agreed on the importance of sustained engagement to progress on priority areas. We will remain in touch.“ he later posted on X, suggesting no immediate ironing out of the several wrinkles that have appeared in the relationship.
Among other things, the Trump administration is insisting that India pivot away from buying Russian oil to put pressure on Moscow to end the Ukraine war, and more recently it has withdrawn sanctions waiver on Chabahar port in Iran that New Delhi was using to circumvent Pakistan and access Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.
President Trump has also shown sudden interest in restoring American control of the Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, cryptically warning that “bad things” will happen if it is not handed back to US At the same time, the US has shown little concern over a mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that directly impacts Israel and India among other nations.
The tangled geo-political skein is complicated by the residual gap in trade issues now aggravated by the US decision to slap a $ 100,000 fee on new H1B visa petitions made outside of the US. The US sees this primarily as an immigration matter, but India has long argued that it is a trade issue since the movement of people generates economic activity and windfall for both countries.
Ahead of his arrival in Washington DC, Goyal said the two countries are "working on the right track” but US officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have complained that New Delhi is “stringing US along” with talks that are never ending. The Indian side for its part is pointing out the despite President Trump claim that there is no trade or very little trade between the two countries, USTR’s own report shows US goods and services trade with India totaled an estimated $212.3 billion in 2024, up 8.3 percent ($16.3 billion) from 2023. If it goes down in 2025, the US has itself to blame for initiating a tariff war and compounding it by suffocating travel.
According to USTR figures, total US goods trade (exports plus imports) with India was an estimated $128.9 billion in 2024. US goods exports to India in 2024 were $41.5 billion, up 3.0 percent ($1.2 billion) from 2023. US goods imports from India in 2024 totaled $87.3 billion, up 4.5 percent ($3.8 billion) from 2023. The US goods trade deficit with India was $45.8 billion in 2024, a 5.9 percent increase ($2.6 billion) over 2023.
US total services trade (exports plus imports) with India totaled an estimated $83.4 billion in 2024. US services exports to India in 2024 were $41.8 billion, up 15.9 percent ($5.7 billion) from 2023. US services imports from India in 2024 were $41.6 billion, up 15.4 percent ($5.6 billion) from 2023. The US services trade surplus with India was $102 million in 2024, compared to a services trade deficit of $76 million in 2023. The US initiated disruption in travel, business, student, and work visas is expected to affect the services trade that has been fairly even.
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