In a joint press conference on Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump said that India and the United States will work on a more than $500 billion bilateral trade agreement by 2030.
India’s recent effort to cut import duties on select goods was acknowledged by Trump, and the president said that he would discuss an agreement to address trade disparities.
Along with collaboration on artificial intelligence and semiconductor development, India and the U.S. would also work on building a strong supply chain for strategic minerals, said Modi.
Modi’s comment came hours after Trump signed a presidential memorandum charting his proposed reciprocal tariffs on foreign countries, India included.
The U.S. will impose the same amount of tariffs that India has been levying on American goods, although the trade deficit could be addressed with oil and gas sales, said Trump.
India charges a 17% simple average duties on the most-favored-nation, which includes the U.S. Meanwhile, the U.S. is currently taxing 3.3% on Indian imports.
According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in 2024, the total traded goods between the U.S. and India is approximately $129 billion, with India holding a $45.7 billion trade surplus.
Raghuram Rajan, professor of finance at the University of Chicago and former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said that it is possible for India to achieve the $500 billion trade goal with the U.S.
He said that India, which is the world’s second-largest arms importer, could shift its imports from Russia to the U.S. and bump up its American liquified natural gas imports.
