Trump hints at India visit amid high-stakes trade deal talks
Trump said talks with India about a potential trade deal are "going good"
- Published
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that trade talks with India are "going good" and also hinted at a possible visit to the country next year.
While speaking to reporters at a White House press briefing, Trump called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "a friend" and a "great man" and said India had "largely stopped buying oil from Russia", a claim he has repeated in the past weeks, external.
Trump had slapped India with 50% tariffs in August, including a 25% penalty for buying Russian oil and arms, which he says was funding Moscow's war with Ukraine - a charge Delhi denies.
Trump's comments come as Delhi and Washington are working to conclude a high-stakes trade deal this fall.
Speaking to reporters about a possible visit to India, Trump said, "we will figure that out, I will go... Prime Minister Modi is a great man and I will be going".
It is unclear when the visit will take place, but it could be next year, Trump said.
His remarks come amid ongoing uncertainty about whether the president will join the Quad Summit which India is scheduled to host this year.
The Quad - composed of Japan, the US, Australia and India - aims at boosting the prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific - was slated to meet in India in November.
The exact dates for the 2025 summit have yet to be confirmed.
While trade talks between India and the US have resumed after months of being stalled over Delhi's Russian oil purchases, India has not directly confirmed Trump's claims of reducing imports.
In October, India's oil imports from Russia had risen slightly from the month before, according to preliminary ship data reported, external by Reuters. But according to the news agency, major Indian and Chinese refiners have now reduced purchases following fresh US sanctions on Russian producers, which has led to Russian oil trading at a steep discount to Brent crude.
India is the second largest importer of Russian crude after China. Russian oil made up 35% to 40% of India's oil imports in 2024 - up from 3% in 2021.
Delhi has defended its purchases of Russian oil, arguing that as a major energy importer, it must buy the cheapest available oil to protect millions of poor Indians from rising costs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has also pointed to ongoing oil trade between Europe and Russia as an example of being selectively targeted for its imports.
Along with reducing dependence on Moscow, the Trump administration has been putting pressure on Delhi to buy more oil and gas from the US.
An Indian government spokesman had previously said discussions were "ongoing" with the US administration which had "shown interest in deepening energy co-operation with India".
While India's oil purchases from Moscow had significantly strained US-India ties, the relationship appears to be on the mend, with Trump previously saying he frequently communicates with his Indian counterpart via phone calls.
The two have also publicly expressed their commitment to furthering India-US ties.
Until recently, the US was India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $190bn in 2024. Trump and Modi have set a target to more than double this figure to $500bn.