New Delhi: With US President Donald Trump casting a doubt over the much anticipated trade deal between New Delhi and Washington, Director of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) Dr Manoj Pant on Wednesday said that he is not surprised that a mega trade deal might not happen during Trump's maiden visit to India later this month.
Speaking exclusively to ETV Bharat, Pant said that according to his understanding, both sides will finalise the deals in the field of energy and defense, on which they have been working on since PM Modi's US visit last year.
The international trade expert was referring to PM Modi's meeting with the top brass of US oil companies in Houston last year, where he urged them to supply oil and gas at discounted prices.
Reports suggest that India's top gas importer Petronet LNG will ink a $2.5 billion deal with Tellurian INC. Petronet will invest this money over the period of five years in Tellurians LNG export project in Louisiana. This will give Petronet rights up to 5 tonnes of LNG a year.
Read: Saving big trade deal with India for later: Trump
Pant, who has also served at the World Trade Organisation, said that a mega trade deal or Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between US and India is not possible at the moment. "It is a political visit," he said.
He added that no mega trade deal would take shape without USTR Robert Lightizer, who is not accompanying President Trump on his visit to India.
Rebuking any slump in India-US trade last year due to tiffs over trade issues, Pant said that the relationship between both nations is smooth.
On the GSP status being taken away by the US and retaliatory tariffs imposed by India, Pant said there is no tariff war between both nations.
Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said he was 'saving the big deal' with India for later and he 'does not know' if it will be done before the presidential election in November, clearly indicating that a major bilateral trade deal during his visit to Delhi next week might not be on the cards.
Read: INTERVIEW: 'Partial deal unlikely, but trade does not define Indo-US ties'
