Prime Minister Narendra Modi dialled US President Donald Trump on Wednesday to assess cooperation in key areas such as trade, energy and defence and to discuss regional and global issues against the backdrop of New Delhi’s concerns over a US sanctions law on Russia.
India has said the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which gives Trump the power to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five purchasers of Russian oil , can have implications for bilateral relations and the global energy market.
Jaishankar said the complex India-US trade deal negotiations were “tested against a ground reality which was much more complex” and by changes on the American side While speaking at the Asia Society in New York. Concerns about the US law have grown at a time when India and the US remain engaged in negotiations on a bilateral trade deal.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal is visiting the US from September 29 to October 5 for talks on the trade deal and to attend a G20 trade ministers’ meeting.
Goyal is expected to meet US counterparts as part of efforts to advance a “balanced and mutually beneficial” bilateral trade agreement, the Indian side said this week. However, India and the US have remained engaged on the proposed trade deal ahead of Modi’s planned visit to the US for the G20 Summit in mid-December.
