US Vice President's India Visit: Trade Talks and Family Time

JD Vance, the US vice president, is set to visit India. He will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss a trade agreement. This visit comes at a time when the US is in a trade war with China. The US is trying to strengthen its global economic partnerships. The vice president will be accompanied by his wife, Usha Vance, and their three children. The trip is a mix of official meetings and family sightseeing. The White House says the focus will be on shared economic and political goals. India sees this visit as a chance to review progress in their relationship. The main topic of discussion will be speeding up a trade deal. This is important as the US has been imposing tariffs on various countries, including India. In April 2023, the US put a 26% tariff on Indian goods. This was during Donald Trump's presidency, despite his friendly relationship with Modi. A temporary pause has been put on these tariffs, but India is still cautious. Officials in Delhi are working hard to finalize the first part of the trade deal. They hope to complete it by autumn. India has already reduced tariffs on some US products. More cuts are expected. The US is India's biggest trading partner. In 2022, trade between the two countries was over $190 billion. This relationship got a boost when Modi visited Washington after Trump's return to the White House. Both leaders want to increase bilateral trade to $500 billion. They call this a "mega partnership. " However, not everyone is happy with this deal. The All India Kisan Sabha, a major farmers' union, plans to protest against it. They fear that trade liberalization could hurt farm incomes, especially in the dairy sector. The farmers' union has over 16 million members. They accuse the US of trying to force India to include its heavily subsidized agriculture sector in the deal. The Modi government still remembers the large-scale farmer protests in 2020-21. Those protests led to the repeal of controversial farm laws. There are also tensions over student and H-1B visas. Many Indians rely on these visas to work in the US. The US has been revoking visas for international students, including many Indians. This has caused concern and fear among Indian students and workers. Vance's visit comes after the head of US intelligence was in Delhi. They were there to strengthen the Quad, a security grouping of the US, India, Japan, and Australia. This group is seen as a counter to China's growing influence. China's president, Xi Jinping, has also been visiting Southeast Asia. He is promoting China as a more reliable economic partner than the US. Despite the focus on work, Vance's trip will also have a personal touch. The family will visit the royal palaces of Jaipur and the Taj Mahal. This highlights Usha Vance's Indian roots and her family's deep ties to India.