There are strong reasons why India and the US should have strong trade ties. Each has comparative advantages and they have complementarities that explained the hope that the first trade deal under Trump 2.0 will be with India. But, things went haywire for reasons not related to trade: India’s refusal to engage Trump’s claims on Operation Sindoor and the pressure on him domestically to appear tough on Moscow resulting a 25% secondary tariff for India’s purchase of Russian crude.
As a result, cereals, maize, soybean and genetically modified food may be kept out of the bilateral trade agreement, which has been in the works since last Feb. Goyal said that Modi had managed to secure a very good deal for India, which was better than what US had offered to some other competing countries. Indian and American officials are currently engaged in drafting a joint statement which is expected to be finalised in the next few days.