aWashington DC, June 13: US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said on Wednesday the United States is open to holding direct dialogues with India to resolve trade differences.
Ahead of his official June 24-30 visits to South Korea, India, Japan, and Sri Lanka, Pompeo said, “It’s a partnership of equals is how we see it. In my upcoming visit, we will probably discuss the GSP decision.”
The state secretary noted, “we remain open to dialogues, and we hope that our friends in India will drop their trade barriers and trust in the competitiveness” of their own firms, according to ANI news reports.
Pompeo made these remarks at the US-India business council, referring to the ongoing trade friction between the two nations, especially a decision taken by President Donald Trump to remove New Delhi from a list of preferential trade treatment from June 5 over the trade barriers.
Pompeo talks about an economic foundation for a free and open Indo-Pacific, during the ongoing two-day “India Ideas Summit”. He said, “I have reinvigorated the quad dialogue. Looking forward to my meeting in Delhi and tea!”
Pompeo briefly talks over how he had monitored the Lok Sabha elections 2019 closely in India and that he wasn’t surprised by the results when Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed victory for the straight second term. He added, “PM Modi has made economic development of the poor a key priority. And the election results are no surprise.”
He also touched upon a soft issue on defence ties between Washington and New Delhi under the US president-led administration. He said, “We have deepened our defence ties. We have taken a hard stand against Pakistan.”