U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi touted progress in discussions on a U.S.-India trade deal during Vance’s visit to New Delhi this week.
The vice president said in a statement that the two countries have made “significant progress” and have agreed to a roadmap and terms of reference for future discussions. The U.S. wants to use the negotiations to grow market access by lowering trade barriers and tariffs, according to a fact sheet from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on the terms of reference.
Notably, the Indian readout of the meeting cited ongoing efforts, but did not say the two sides had agreed on terms of reference for the negotiations.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called agreement on the terms of reference “a big deal,” describing it in briefing reporters Tuesday as “a framework to move the ball forward.”
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Former U.S. trade negotiator Wendy Cutler pointed out that it has been nine weeks since the U.S. and India said they would start talks on a trade deal. Cutler suggested that if it takes nine weeks to reach an acceptable path on negotiations with a single country, the administration could struggle to conclude the dozens of deals under negotiation before the end of President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on country-specific reciprocal tariffs.
“Only 12 weeks allotted to conclude trade talks with multiple countries,” Cutler, who is now vice president at the Washington-based Asia Society Policy Institute, posted on LinkedIn.
“Meaningful trade agreements take time to negotiate to get them right and ensure that they are meaningful and durable,” she wrote.
Leavitt told reporters in Tuesday’s briefing that U.S. officials are meeting with representatives from 34 countries this week to continue to hash out deals.
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