Japan-US Summit Offers Cues for Modi-Trump Handshake
PM Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump, Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba Image credit X.com
Trump Drives hard Bargains with Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, February 9: On close heels of deporting 104 Indians, US President Donald Trump will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a summit. Trump is likely to reveal his wish list to Modi.
The US-Japan Summit possibly holds cues for Modi. Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hogged the global headlines by persuading Trump for a U-turn on Nippon Steel’s proposed takeover of the U.S. Steel.
Hard bargains preceded Trump’s U-turn. Trump in December in a post on his social media platform Truth Social had opposed the U.S. Steel takeover by Nippon Steel.
But Shigeru had to agree to partake Trump’s “Drill, Baby, Drill” vision for the US to rediscover the “Golden Age of America”. Japan agreed to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US to help the new administration in Washington bridge the trade deficit with Japan.
Nikkei Asia quoted Ishiba telling Japanese journalists on his return from Washington, said: “Stable and reasonably priced (imports) will undoubtedly serve Japan’s national interest.” This (LNG) import will help eliminate the trade deficit, added Ishiba.
The Japanese Prime Minister also committed to step up investment in the US to $1 trillion in areas of manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), and energy.
India has visibly been more accommodative of Trump team in Washington. Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget announced import duty cuts on items. Union Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar ended up giving an impression of defence of the US deporting Indians in a military plane while they had been handcuffed. Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha that the government agencies will crackdown against the agents who send the Indians to the US illegally.
But Ishiba’s summit with Trump suggests that Modi should prepare for a major session of hard bargaining in Washington. Trump’s transactional thrust in bilateral ties is the new normal.
Trump Administration Wants Ambitious Ties with India: Jaishankar
Trump’s demand on Ukraine to mine the rare earths metal of the US is inviting the wrath of the European leaders. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has slammed Trump for seeking a price on military aide to Ukraine in its war efforts against Russia.
Analysts state Modi may face a demanding Trump in Washington with bilateral trade deficit at the centre stage of the upcoming summit.
“US is the largest trading partner of India with overall bilateral trade in goods and services of $190.1 billion for calendar year 2023,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a brief on the bilateral relations.
Incidentally, the US imports to India had dipped by over half a percentage point. But the Indian exports to the US had grown up by more than a percentage point per US Census data for 2023.
It’s likely that Trump may seek Modi nod for liberal imports of American luxury goods in India. Also, Trump may step up pressure on India to buy more defence goods from the US, add analysts.
Join the WhatsApp Channel of The Raisina Hills
Follow on Google News https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMNK2vwsw39HWAw?hl=en-IN&gl=IN&ceid=IN%3Aen
About The Author
