'Make in India, a concern for US-India trade': Senior US official ahead of Trump's visit

Just days ahead of US President Donald Trump's much-anticipated visit to India, a senior administration official has said that India's protectionist policy has remained a concern for the United States with respect to the trade deal between the two countries adding that the "Make in India" campaign makes the discussion on trade "more difficult".

"The protectionism policy has been a concern for us. We have had a number of announcements coming from India which are making the discussions more difficult perhaps," the official told.

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"The recent one being the 'Make in India' announcement, (which) has made the protectionism concern even greater. There has been an increase and not a decrease of concerns and this would certainly come up among the leaders," the official added.

The official also mentioned the union budget of India stating that the tariffs raised on products of American interest may also come up in discussion among the two leaders. "We have seen India's budget process, it (India) recently raised tariffs on products of interest to the US," the official said.

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The US President has also earlier mentioned that New Delhi has been hitting Washington hard with tariffs for many years but his fondness for PM Modi, he added that new trade deals will likely be done.

"Great new trade deals will likely be done. I am going to India next week. They have been hitting us hard for many many years but I really like Prime Minister Modi. We'll talk a little business. They give us tariffs one of the highest in the world. But I hear they gonna have 10 million people showing up along one of the largest stadiums in the world."

With regards to Trump's statement, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on the India-US trade deal has said that India has been engaging with the US for quite some time and India hopes to reach an understanding with an outcome that strikes the right balance for both sides.

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