A slew of deals on trade and defence are on the table as New Delhi is preparing to host US President Donald Trump as early as next month. While several sets of dates are being considered, the US President may be able to make it between February 21 and 25 with a three-stop India tour as his itinerary is still being worked out. Besides Delhi, where summit-level meetings will happen between Trump and the Indian leadership led by PM Narendra Modi, stops at Agra and Ahmedabad are being worked out. Security liaison meetings are taking place in a host of venues, where the idea is to have a large public event to honour the visiting US President. The brief in the government circles has been that the welcome to President Trump must be “bigger than Obama’s”. While that is a hard act to follow, since Obama visited India twice — once as chief guest at Republic Day celebrations in 2015 — ideas are being floated in the government on how to make it “Trump-worthy”. A Howdy Modi-style event is possibly going to be one such way to make him feel “Presidential”, a source said. But, venue options for the event are also being carefully considered — the anti-CAA protests had forced the government to cancel Japanese PM’s visit to Assam in December last year. While optics will be crucial, sources said discussions are underway to make the visit “more substantial”. Officials from both sides are working towards a trade deal that may be signed during the US President’s visit to India. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and his team have been in talks with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal for months now, and despite a failed attempt in New York last September, the two sides have continued to negotiate. India is demanding exemption from high duties imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under their Generalised System of Preferences, greater market access for its products from sectors, including agriculture, automobile, auto components and engineering. On the other hand, the US wants greater market access for its farm and manufacturing products, dairy items and medical devices and cut on import duties on some ICT products. The US has also raised concerns over the high trade deficit with India. The two sides have also continued discussion on the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement in 2020 to enable greater geospatial info-sharing. If negotiations are completed in time, the two sides may ink this foundational pact as well. There is likely to be some progress on defence purchases as well and talks are underway between the two sides on the next order for fighter jets. Lockheed Martin has proposed to move its entire F-16 manufacturing base to India if it gets a critical mass order for the fighter jets India is planning to acquire for its defence forces. However, dates for the visit are subject to change because of Trump’s impeachment process. If that drags on, the visit may be pushed to April-May this year.
