"I believe there is much that America and India can accomplish together," Mr Vance said.
In a big signal amid fears of the impact of Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs, US Vice-President JD Vance has said his country and India have finalised terms for a trade deal.
Speaking at an event in Jaipur on Tuesday, a day after his meeting with PM Narendra Modi, "Mr Vance said, "Our administration seeks trade partners on the basis of fairness and of shared national interests. We want to build relationships with our foreign partners who respect their workers, who do not suppress their wages to boost exports, but respect the value of their labour."
"We want partners that are committed to working with America to build things, not just allowing themselves to become a conduit for trade and shipping others' goods. And, finally, we want to partner with people and countries who recognise the historic nature of the moment we are in... of the need to come together and build something completely new, a system of global trade that is balanced, one that is open and one that is stable and fair, " he emphasised.
The Vice-President said that while the governments of America's partners need not do things exactly the same way as the US, they need to have some common goals. These common goals with India, he said, are related to both economics and national security.
“That is why I am so excited to be here today. In India, America has a friend and we seek to strengthen the warm bonds our great nations already share,” he asserted.
Terms Of Reference
Mr Vance pointed out that when President Trump and PM Modi announced in February that they aim to more than double bilateral trade between the countries to $500 billion by the end of the decade, they meant it.
"As many of you are aware, both of our governments are hard at work on a trade agreement based on shared priorities, like creating new jobs, building durable supply chains and achieving prosperity for our workers. At our meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Modi and I made very good progress on all of those points," the US Vice President said.
"We are especially excited to formally announce that America and India have officially finalised the terms of reference for the trade negotiation. I think this is a vital step towards realising President Trump's and PM Modi's vision, because it sets a roadmap towards a final deal between our nations. I believe there is much that America and India can accomplish together," he stressed.
Possible Impact
The confirmation from Mr Vance will come as a relief to exporters and others who depend on the US market for their businesses and is also likely to be good news for the stock markets, which had slumped after Mr Trump's tariff announcements, gaining after a 90-day pause was announced.
The Centre has repeatedly insisted that it does not want to have a rushed reaction to the tariffs and is negotiating a bilateral trade deal with the US and Mr Vance's remarks have bolstered its reassurances.
