'I'm Doing A Trade Deal With India,': Trump Says Amid Trade Talks Between Two Countries

Seoul: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the US is "doing a trade deal with India" as the two sides continue to hold talks on the proposed trade pact. While speaking at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) CEO Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, Trump added that he had great “respect and love" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“If you look at India and Pakistan … so, I'm doing a trade deal with India and I have great respect and love, as you know, for Prime Minister Modi, we have a great relationship,” Trump said.

He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “nicest looking guy”, a “killer” and “tough as hell”. But in the same breath, Donald Trump once again waded into the India-Pakistan conflict by claiming he stopped their recent military hostilities. A few hours earlier, the US president also claimed that “seven brand new” planes were shot down in the May 7-10 Operation Sindoor.

“I called Prime Minister Modi. I said, we can't make a trade deal with you… (He said) No, no, we must make a trade… I said, No, we can't. You are starting a war with Pakistan. We're not going to do it,” Trump said. He also praised Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, calling him “a great fighter” and “a great guy.”

“Then I called Pakistan. I said, we're not going to do trade with you because you're fighting with India, and you know, two nuclear nations. And they said, no, no, no, you should let us fight. They both said that,” he added.

Trump’s comment came at a time when the relations between New Delhi and Washington have been reeling under severe strain after Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, including an additional 25 per cent levies for its procurement of Russian crude oil.

In Tokyo, while speaking at a reception and dinner with business leaders on Tuesday, Trump said: “Seven planes were shot down, seven brand new, beautiful planes were shot down, and they were going at it ... two big nuclear powers.” He added that he told Modi -- "a very nice man, a very good man, and the Field Marshal over in Pakistan, I said, 'Look, we're not going to do any trade if you're going to be fighting,'” Trump said. Trump said that India and Pakistan argued that war has nothing to do with trade with the US.

“(They said) one thing has nothing to do with the other. I said this, it has a lot to do with the other …two nuclear powers…we get that nuclear dust all over the place. All of you are affected, right? And we said, No, we're not doing any deals if you're going to fight. And within about 24 hours, that was the end of that. It was amazing, actually,” the US President said.

India described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable". It is understood that Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio broadly delved into the proposed trade pact between the two sides during their meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Monday on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

However, there was no indication that the US side assured India of removing the 25 per cent tariff slapped for its energy ties with Russia. In the last couple of weeks, US President Donald Trump claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him that India would stop buying Russian crude oil. Following Trump's first claim, India suggested that there was no such conversation.

The Ministry of External Affairs said on October 16 that energy sourcing is being broad-based and diversified, including an expansion in procurement from the US. It said India's energy purchases are guided solely by the objective of safeguarding the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario, and the twin goals of India's energy policy are ensuring stable energy prices and secure supplies.

However, according to an official, a proposed bilateral trade deal between India and the US is "very near" to concluding. “We are very near as far as the deal is concerned," the official said last week.

In the Berlin Global Dialogue, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal last week said India will not do any deal in a hurry or with a "gun to our head". Five rounds of talks have been completed so far for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement between the US and India.

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