No India-US trade pact yet

TRUMP SPEAKS: ‘IF A DEAL HAPPENS WITH INDIA, IT WILL BE TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR’

President wants more access to India for US dairy and medical goods producers.

New Delhi

US President Donald Trump failed on Tuesday to strike a trade deal with India at the end of a visit short on substance and overshadowed by deadly riots.

US-Indian trade relations have worsened in recent years as Trump’s “America First” aim of reducing deficits has collided with the “Make in India” mantra of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking at the end of the tour, Trump said only that they had made “tremendous progress” towards an accord.

“The US has to be treated fairly and India understands that,” he told a news conference, adding that “if a deal happens with India, it will be towards the end of the year”.

Trump has imposed tariffs on Indian steel and aluminium and suspended duty-free access for certain goods in an effort to cut the $25 billion (R381 billion) US trade deficit with Asia’s third-biggest economy.

Under pressure to deliver ahead of his November re-election battle, Trump has pressed for greater access to the vast Indian market of 1.3 billion people for US dairy producers and makers of medical goods.

But Modi has responded with higher tariffs on US goods including $600 million worth of Californian almonds.

Arriving early on Monday Trump hailed India and its “tremendously successful” but “very, very tough” Modi at the rally of about 100 000 people inside the world’s largest cricket stadium in Gujarat.

The pair did announce $3 billion in defence deals, including for the sale of naval helicopters, proof of their deepening strategic alliance to counter the rise of China in the region.

But behind the bonhomie they remain far apart on a trade deal between the world’s biggest economy