India US eye 500B bilateral trade now 2030 Modi meet Trump

Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed on February 14 that India and the United States have jointly set a target of doubling their bilateral trade to $ 500B bilateral trade by 2030. Modi, who is on a two-day US tour, also said that the two nations will work on concluding a mutually beneficial trade agreement very soon.

“We have … set ourselves the target of more than doubling our bilateral trade to attain $500 billion by 2030. Our teams will work on concluding very soon, a mutually beneficial trade agreement,” Modi said speaking at a press conference after a meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington.

Earlier, President Trump welcomed Modi at the West Wing lobby in the White House in Washington, DC on Friday (Indian time). The two leaders exchanged a warm hug as they greeted each other.

US India’s largest trade partner

The US is India’s largest trade partner as of 2024, yet India ranks tenth in the list of US trading partners for the same year, according to a report in CNN. The bilateral trade between the US and India stood at $129.2 billion in 2024, a record for the partnership,

Barely hours before the meeting, President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs, saying that the United States would levy the same charges as countries impose on it ‘without exceptions.’

The two countries would work together on artificial intelligence and semiconductors and focus on establishing strong supply chains for strategic minerals, Modi said at the press conference as reported by news agency Reuters.

A Trump administration official told reporters earlier that US and Indian officials were also moving forward with talks on a bilateral trade deal and they hoped to have a deal in place this year, the Reuters report said.

PM Modi began two-day US visit on Thursday. Before meeting Trump, PM Modi held bilateral meetings with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard.

Speaking at the joint presser alongside PM Modi, President Trump said India had announced a reduction of tariffs on US goods. He said that PM Modi would begin talks on disparities on trade with the goal of signing an agreement. Trump said the United States was entitled to a level playing field and the US trade deficit with India could be made up with the sale of oil and gas.

Discussed India’s high tariffs in first term: Trump

Earlier in the day before meeting PM Modi, President Trump announced that his administration would soon impose “reciprocal tariffs” on trading partners, opening new fronts in his global trade war. While signing the executive order at the Oval Office, Trump said India has more tariffs than any other country.

“India has more tariffs than nearly any other country,”Donald Trump said while talking about his intentions of imposing reciprocal tariffs.

Trump, however, said in the joint conference that he had discussed India’s high tariffs during his first term, but was unable to extract any concessions. The US President reiterated that as per the new reciprocal tariffs system that he announced earlier, the US would simply charge the same tariff rates that India charged.

“It’s very hard to sell into India because they have trade barriers, very strong tariffs,” he said.

Modi is among the first few world leaders to visit the United States following President Trump’s inauguration. He has been invited to visit within three weeks of the new administration taking office.

“We are, right now, a reciprocal nation… We’re going to have whatever India charges, we’re charging them. Whatever another country charges, we’re charging them. So it’s called reciprocal, which I think is a very fair way.”

(With inputs from Reuters)