Indian-American US Congressman Shri Thanedar on Tuesday (local time) emphasized that tariffs remain a “big” issue ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump. He stated that key topics such as trade, bilateral relations, and immigration would also be crucial in the discussions.
“This is an exciting time. PM Modi and Donald Trump have met two times before… I am looking forward to this meeting… There are a lot of issues that need to be talked about. The tariff is a big issue, the bilateral relationship, commerce, immigration issue, there are so many things going on… I hope a lot can get done,” Thanedar said.
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America, suggested that an agreement might be reached to prevent a trade dispute between India and the US.
“We may see some kind of agreement where both sides agree on a set of tariffs and another arrangement to ensure we don’t get into a tit-for-tat type of trade dispute over the next four years… India is a very large producer of steel globally, so the possibility of this escalating is real,” Jaishankar told media.
He also pointed out that the issue of illegal Indian immigrants and deportations from the US would be discussed during the meeting.
“India has had a long-standing policy, not just with the US but with other countries as well… If they are identified as Indian and have overstayed their visas or are undocumented migrants, India is willing to take them back… India has been working with many countries to find mechanisms for identification… This is not a new policy… However, the optics of it have played very negatively in India… Talking seriously about what needs to be done and how this can be better managed will be helpful,” he added.
On the potential discussion of Bangladesh-related issues, Thanedar expressed hope that they would be addressed.
“I hope they do. As a Congressman, I spoke a lot about it. I asked that they address the issue. The State Department under President Biden did issue some sanctions against Bangladesh,” he said.
PM Modi is set to visit the US on February 12-13 at the invitation of US President Donald Trump. This will be the first meeting between the two leaders since President Trump assumed office for his second term.