Modi, Vance finalize terms of reference for bilateral trade deal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with US vice president J.D. Vance in New Delhi this week and the leaders have finalized the terms of reference for a bilateral trade deal, the latter said on Tuesday.

Vance is currently on a four-day visit to India with his wife and three children.

“America and India have officially finalized the terms of reference for the trade negotiation. I believe this is a vital step toward realizing President Trump’s and Prime Minister Modi’s vision, because it sets a road map toward a final deal between our nations,” Vance said in Jaipur.

Vance also said that there is much that two nations can accomplish working together.

“I believe there is much that America and India can accomplish together. And on that note, I want to talk about a few areas of collaboration today, how India and the United States can work together. America does more military exercises with India than we do with any other nation on Earth. Second, to build great things, and finally, to innovate the cutting-edge technologies both our countries will need in the years to come,” said Vance while speaking at an event in Jaipur.

India is among several countries negotiating trade deals with the US during President Donald Trump’s three-month pause on higher tariffs, which ends on 9 July.

Trump had threatened to levy a 26% tariff on Indian exports—up from the baseline 10% for all nations—if there is no deal by 9 July.

New Delhi is looking to strike an early bilateral trade deal with Washington that spares it from additional tariff hikes.

“We are committed to mutually beneficial cooperation, including in trade, technology, defense, energy and people-to-people exchanges,” Modi posted on X after the meeting on Monday night.

The White House released a statement saying that the talks yielded “significant progress in negotiations” for a bilateral trade deal, and that the sides had finalized a roadmap for a possible deal.

The two leaders also exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest, and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward, a government statement said.

Both “called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward” after discussing regional and global security issues, the statement added.

“India’s constructive engagement so far has been welcomed and I look forward to creating new opportunities for workers, farmers, and entrepreneurs in both countries,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

Modi said he looks forward to Trump’s visit to India later this year, referring to an invite he extended to the US president in February.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is in Washington this week and plans to meet treasury secretary Scott Bessent to advance the talks.

Vance and his family arrived in New Delhi on Monday after a three-day tour of Italy, where the US vice-president met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and also Pope Francis at the Vatican, just a day before the pontiff’s death.