Donald Trump has been in India over the last few days, with the intention to get a trade deal done with India and also bolster his election campaign hopes.
The US President has said that he has agreed to ‘promptly’ conclude ongoing trade talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Donald Trump has had a good relationship with India across his tenure in the White House, as him and Modi are similar in political views but different in others.
They both share a similar sentiment of nationalism combined with a strong business ethos, and it is no surprise that the two leaders have gotten along so well.
Trump’s visit to India lasted two days, across February 24-25, and he announced his intentions to sell $3 billion of military equipment to India.
“They agreed to promptly conclude the ongoing negotiations, which they hope can become phase one of a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement that reflects the true ambition and full potential of the bilateral commercial relations”, the White House said.
Despite the seemingly strong relationship with India, Trump has criticized the high tariffs on imports that have been placed.
“If the deal happens with India it will be at the end of this year and if it doesn’t happen then we will do something else,” the President said on Tuesday.
Being the shrewd businessman that Trump is, he has said numerous times that he wants to be treated fairly and given access to the vast Indian market space.
Trump right now is balancing many things, however his election campaign will be at the top of his priority list.
A few days back, I wrote about how Bernie Sanders could potentially challenge Trump in November – and this is still a big challenge for Trump.
However, the relationship he has built with one of the world’s superpowers in India is notable – and the effect that this may have on Indian American voters could help his re-election prospects.
