US President Donald Trump on Monday announced that India and the US are in discussion for a “fantastic” trade agreement.Terming that the proposed agreement will be among the biggest ever made, he said “Over the course of my visit, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and I will also discuss our efforts to expand the economic ties between our two countries.”The US President said that commerce between the two nations has increased “by more than 40 per cent”.“We will be making a very, very major, among the biggest ever made trade deals,” the President said.Detailing on it, he said, “We are in the early stages of discussion for an incredible trade agreement to reduce barriers of investments, between the US and India and I am optimistic that working together, the Prime Minister and I can reach a fantastic deal that’s good and even great for both of our countries.”According to Trump “Prime Minister Modi is a ‘very tough’ negotiator.”India is now a major market for American exports and the US is India’s largest export market, he said.
Trump added a “booming” America is a great thing for India and also for the world and “that’s why, we are so happy to announce that we have had the greatest economy ever in the history of the US.”“We have proven that the best way to attract jobs and opportunity is to reduce burdens on business, knock down barriers to new investments and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy, red tape, regulations and taxes in the US,” he said.Trump added that Prime Minister Modi has already made significant reforms in India, and the world is looking forward to even more rapid improvement in India’s business climate.“Under his (Modi’s) leadership, he wants to do and he is doing this at a record pace,” Trump added.His remarks on trade barriers, red tape, taxes, regulations are being seen as subtle ways to nudge India on reforms as before coming to India he had said US is not treated well by India.His sudden announcement on a trade agreement with India has raised hopes that there could be a trade deal during his visit though it is still not clear if that would be announced on Tuesday when he meets Modi officially.There are many issues from trade to sensitive areas like duties, agriculture, dairy, data protection and localisation, e-commerce and other sectors.