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Despite a high-level phone call between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, 2025 is likely to end without the long-promised US-India trade deal, as the “America first” leader continues to stall the agreement while working to cement improved ties with Beijing.
“We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments,” Modi said. However, neither a breakthrough nor the expected first tranche of a deal was announced.
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The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the call. However, during a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump believes that having a “good working relationship” with China is “a good thing for our country”.
The missed deadline caps months of grinding negotiations in which India, a pivotal Indo-Pacific partner for Washington, has faced some of the highest US tariffs of any major trading partner, including 25 per cent punitive duties tied to its Russian energy imports.
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