Marco Rubio To Meet PM Modi After Kolkata Visit: What's On The Cards - Trade Deal, Energy Imports, Quad Summit

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to begin his four-day, four city visit of India as he landed in Kolkata, West Bengal on Saturday, 23 May. Rubio's visit comes at a time when US-India ties have been battered by President Donald Trump's tariffs, and Washington's renewed engagement with New Delhi's rivals Pakistan and China.

Rubio's first visit to India is slated to include stops in Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi for talks on trade, energy and defense cooperation, the State Department said.

In Kolkata, the top US diplomat, a devout Catholic, will tour the headquarters of the late Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.

Rubio is then slated to fly to New Delhi, where he will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Saturday.

Will the trade deal be finalised?

Rubio's visit is expected to focus on closing the trade deal, which has been long pending after US slapped India with some of the highest reciprocal tariffs and partially rolled them back later.

In February, the two countries reached a "framework for an interim agreement" on trade to lower Trump's tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from a punishing 50%, half of which had been linked to India's purchases of Russian oil.

Also Read | White House fact sheet: US-India interim trade deal to cut tariffs, boost BTA

But talks to finalise the deal slowed after the US Supreme Court struck down Trump's tariffs in late February.

That effectively brought the duty rate on Indian goods down to 10%, but India has been weighing its options as the Trump administration pursues investigations under unfair trade practices legislation widely expected to restore much of the prior levies.

A person familiar with the talks told news agency Reuters that Washington had been disappointed with India's perceived reluctance and apparent belief that it could strike a good deal without giving much up. And that this mood was likely to cloud Rubio's efforts to stabilise ties.

Richard Rossow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank told Reuters,“I do not expect Secretary Rubio will have much impact in changing the downward trajectory.” He added that the lack of a trade deal more than three months after signing an interim arrangement will put a shadow on other aspects as well.

Eye on energy

During his Sweden visit, Rubio called India a "great ally, great partner" and said the United States would be looking to find ways to sell it more oil.

India predominantly depends on fuel imports and, with Iran choking the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation to US-Israel attacks, it is currently struggling to cushion the energy shock.

Also Read | Fuel price hiked third time in 10 days: Analysts warn of more hikes ahead

India has historic ties with Iran but also a growing relationship with Israel, which Modi visited days before the war started late February.

The conflict has also seen the re-emergence of Pakistan, which has positioned itself as a mediator, with its powerful army chief flying Friday to Tehran.

Trump warmed to Pakistan, after it lavished him with praise over his role in ending the brief war with India last May. Pakistan also welcomed a cryptocurrency firm owned by the US president's family.

Meanwhile, Modi irked Trump by not crediting him with ending the war, and was awarded by punitive tariffs on India shortly afterwards, at rates higher than he had put on China.

Rubio's deputy, Christopher Landau, said India's rise should not come at the commercial expense of the US, and vowed not to repeat "the same mistakes" made with China.

Quad Summit vs China

Before leaving on Tuesday, Rubio is expected to take part in a meeting of foreign ministers of the Quad - Australia, India, Japan and the United States - four democracies seen as a counterweight to China's presence in the Indian Ocean.

India's requests to the White House to schedule a Trump visit for the Quad summit, have so far gone unanswered, Reuters reported citing another person familiar with the talks.

China has long been suspicious of the Quad and has chastised India in the past for taking part in it.

But Rubio's trip comes as Trump is shaking up traditional assumptions about US priorities - in that he is seen warming up to China.

Trump paid a state visit to China last week, where he spoke of the US and China being a“G2”. US-China relations have been on tenterhooks since the 2018 'trade war' over fierce manufacturing competition and technological supremacy.

Trump's recent Beijing visit, however, sought more collaboration with China with tech barons Elon Musk, Jensen Huang and Tim Cook accompanying the president on his visit. According to a press release of the White House, US and China agreed on resource-sharing rare earth metals, critical for the manufacture of semiconductor chips.

Also Read | 200 Boeing aircraft, $17bn in farm imports: What Trump's China deal entails

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