In India, Vance Seeks to Broaden Bilateral Ties, Increase Trade

Vice President JD Vance is visiting India this week in hopes of strengthening the United States’ relationship with a strategic ally that also happens to be the world’s most populous democracy. 

Accompanied by his wife, Usha—whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from India—and his three children, the vice president is making a show of touring the South Asian nation with visits to the Akshardham Hindu temple in New Delhi, the Amer Fort in Jaipur, and the Taj Mahal in Agra.

The vice president also had the opportunity to dine with his family at the residence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The diplomatic visit by Vance comes after India’s prime minister visited the White House in February to discuss with President Donald Trump a bilateral trade agreement between the two nations. 

India was not exempted from the American president’s use of tariffs. The president hit the country with a 26% levy that has been partially paused. Even so, Vance said that Trump and Modi are hoping to more than double the amount of trade between the two countries by 2030. That would be about $500 billion. It would only strengthen a relationship that is preeminent: India’s largest trading partner is already the U.S. 

In his speech at the Ananta Centre’s India-U.S. Forum at the Rajasthan International Center in Jaipur, Vance took aim at those in the West who give into fear about the future. He noted that India did not appear to have that philosophy plaguing it.

“Now, it’s a striking contrast with too many in the West, where some in our leadership class seem stricken by self-doubt and even fear of the future. To them, humanity is always one bad decision away from catastrophe. The world will soon end, they tell us, because we’re burning too much fuel or making too many things or having too many children,” Vance told the international audience. 

“Well, President Trump rejects these failed ideas. He wants America to grow. He wants India to grow, and he wants to build the future with our partners all over the globe,” the vice president explained. 

Vance criticized Washington leaders for approaching the Modi government with an attitude of condescension. The vice president also announced progress on the trade negotiations between India and the United States, stating that the two countries’ governments had finalized the terms of reference. 

India is a key ally in the U.S.’s competition with China. The two Asian nations share a more than 2,100-mile-long border that has been the subject of border disputes for years. Trump presided over a massive increase in weapons sales to India from $6.2 million to $3.4 billion. At the vice president’s talk in Jaipur, Vance emphasized the joint Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance that Trump and Modi had announced as part of a new initiative in February. 

Vance also suggested in his speech that India lower some of its nontariff trade barriers. He cited energy production as a potential area for further integration between the two countries. That would include the importation of American ethanol fuel to India made from corn that could help supply the nation of 1.4 billion people with more energy, and nuclear reactor production that would result if India loosened its civil nuclear liability laws. 

Vance drew a parallel between the dreams of the people of the two powerful nations. 

“Now, like you, we want to appreciate our history, our culture, our religion. We want to do commerce and strike good deals with our friends. We want to found our vision of the future upon the proud recognition of our heritage, rather than self-loathing and fear,” he said.

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