In the G20 Summit held in Japan’s Osaka, 19 members for the second time sidelined the decision of the Trump government and recommitted themselves to the Paris climate deal. The final statement released after the summit mirrors the agreement that was taken in last year’s G-20 Summit held in Argentina despite strong objections from the US.
US Not To Levy New Tariffs On Chinese Exports
After bilateral talks with the Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Summit, the US President Donald Trump told the media that America will not levy any new tariffs on the exports from China. Trump even said that he was also ready for a historic trade deal with China. The US President further added, “I actually think that we were very close and … that something happened where it slipped a little bit, and now we’re getting a little bit closer.”
India also set a mood for extending its trade relations with Indonesia. The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar stated that the two countries have set an ambitious target of $50 billion for bilateral trade for the upcoming 6 years. The decision was taken during the bilateral discussion between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo at the G-20 Summit.
The Indian PM also met the presidents of Turkey and Brazil on the second day of the Summit.
Trump’s Tweet And Bullying Tactics Fail To Work On Modi
Prior to meeting Narendra Modi in Osaka, Trump teased him with a tweet that demanded the Indian PM to withdraw the unacceptable high tariff that India has levied on particular products of the US. But when actually these two leaders met they discussed very briefly on the different aspects of mutual interest. Trump directly did not ask Modi to make any tariff readjustment but indirectly asked him to get officials to work together and sort out the trade-related issues that have emerged in the last one year between the two countries.
In his tweet after meeting Trump at the G-20 Summit Modi tweeted, “The talks with @POTUS were wide-ranging. We discussed ways to leverage the power of technology, improve defense and security ties as well as issues relating to trade. India stands committed to further deepen economic and cultural relations with the USA. @realDonaldTrump”
A statement from the Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale post discussion between Trump and Modi gives an impression that all the bullying tactics by the US president failed to work on the Indian PM.
India’s Decision To Buy S-400 & The US Objection
Apart from the trade discussions the two leaders of India and the US also discussed defense ties with Trump emphasizing that the defense deals between the US and India should progress further.
The interesting thing was that Trump did not even mention the issue of S-400 missile system that India is currently buying from Russia. It should be noted that the different defense and S-400 deals of India with Russia have constantly irked the US administration.
The US imposes sanctions on the countries that purchase arms from Russia under its Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). India has already asked for a waiver from the US but the request has not been accepted yet.
However, Trump did not discuss the issue during this bilateral meeting with Modi at the Summit which can be an indication that the US is ready to focus on building the ties between the two countries and going beyond the S-400 deal.
Just ahead of the meeting Trump even said, “We have become great friends and our countries have never been closer. I can say that with surety. We will work together in many ways including the military.”
