Washington, Feb 13 Both sides have very "concrete asks" for the upcoming summit, said Richard Rossow, a leading US export on bilateral ties, on the upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, later on Thursday.
"President Trump will push for concrete commitments to expand purchases of US goods—particularly defence equipment and hydrocarbons," Rossow told IANS. "He will want Prime Minister Modi to agree to relax some import restrictions. A third US ask is for more Indian companies to make big investments in the United States."
Trade and energy are slated to be the focus of the visit, which will be the first in-person meeting of the two leaders after President Trump's return to the White House for a second non-consecutive term.
The American President could also announce a reciprocal tariff system, which he said Wednesday he plans to shortly. It is not clear yet how, and if, this announcement will impact trade with India, but the Indian delegation will be prepared for it.
"Prime Minister Modi will want to accommodate as much as possible to avoid a trade fight," Rossow, who heads the India Chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said of the bilateral meeting which will take place on Thursday at the White House.
"The United States is too significant of an export market for India. India can perhaps push for further relaxations on US export controls on sensitive defence and strategic technology items. And India will want more clarity on what US immigration policy might look like."
The ongoing deportations of Indians who entered the US without proper papers has added a new wrinkle to the immigration dialogue between the two countries, in addition to issues over the H-1B visa programme whose future is currently being debated within the Trump administration.
"I do hope the leaders offer clarity on the existing bilateral channels, which ones will survive, which will evolve, and which may have ended," Rossow said in conclusion. "There is some hope that the two sides will announce the intention to negotiate a real trade deal, perhaps focused on a few sectors. This would inject real momentum into commercial ties at a time that trade and investment flows are stagnant."
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