The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the United States President Donald Trump, during a phone call on Monday, discussed reducing the US trade shortfall with India increasing their support and cooperation in war-torn country Afghanistan, said the White House.
According to news reported by CNBC, in an official statement, the White House said: “The leaders agreed to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership in 2019 and exchanged perspectives on how to reduce the US trade deficit with India, expand security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, and increase cooperation in Afghanistan.”
The US has imposed tariffs on the imports of aluminum and steel from India as a part of the US president’s drive in order to reduce the US trade deficit and to boost US-based manufacturing jobs.
India has last year, announced a higher imports on several US products such as lentils, apples, chickpeas, almonds and walnuts in retaliation to the US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a heavy tariffs on imported aluminum and steel items, a move by the US that has sparked fears of a global trade war.
According to Indian news reports, India has threatened to retaliate against the US but has said to not take any kind of actions until the end of this month.
Last month, Trump has announced his decision to withdraw its 7,000 US troops from Afghanistan, according to a US official.
Recently, India has funded a library in Afghanistan and has provided $3 billion development assistance to Afghan country. The US president has mocked Modi for funding a library and said, “And we’re supposed to say, ‘Oh, thank you for the library.’ I don’t know who’s using it in Afghanistan.”
India released a statement and said that “India plays a significant role as a development partner” in Afghan, aimed at achieving “a tangible improvement in the lives of its people”.