US Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to visit India from April 18 to 21 for an official visit, which is set to include a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 21. This will be Vance’s first visit to India (Vance to visit India) since entering office and it will come at a time when both countries are trying to seal a two-sided trade deal by this fall. His wife, Usha Vance, who has links to Andhra Pradesh and their children will be traveling with him.
The visit occurs during the prevailing worried situation in trade between the US and China. President Donald Trump having recently imposed tariffs ranging from 45% to 145% on Chinese imports led to an angry Chinese response levying up to 125% on certain US goods. Meanwhile, India has been affected by a temporary tariff suspension in respect of a 27% tariff imposed by the US and effective April 2, with a pause for 90 days on trade talks currently being considered by Washington and New Delhi.
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India has reportedly already cut tariffs on key products and is considering further reductions to enhance trade ties. Bilateral trade between India and the US stood at $190 billion in the last year. Both leaders during the visit of the Indian PM in February had set plans to increase trade to $500 billion and had announced greater Indian imports of US oil and gas.
Apart from the recent trip of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to India for a geopolitical summit, the stage is clearly being set between the two candidates, considered core elements in the Quad alliance also comprising Australia and Japan in which the two powers act in concert strategically to balance China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. Before coming to India, Vance would also visit Italy for talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
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