NEW DELHI (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit India from Tuesday for talks with government leaders over a growing list of trade and investment issues that has cast a shadow over ties between the two big democracies.
Pompeo is expected to lay the ground for a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the week at a G20 meeting in Japan.
Both countries are trying to promote domestic manufacturing.
Under a “Make in India” campaign, Modi has been courting foreign investors. Trump has pushed for U.S. manufacturing to return home as part of his “Make America Great Again” campaign.
The two countries also have differences over Russian arms sales to India and U.S. sanctions on China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
TARIFFS, CLOSED MARKETS
India this month imposed higher tariffs on 28 U.S. products including almonds, apples and walnuts, following the U. S. withdrawal of certain trade privileges for India.
Last year, India had announced tariffs in retaliation to higher U.S. import duties on steel and aluminium.
Trump has called India “tariff king”, and pointed to 50% duties on Harley Davidson motorbikes as an example. The Trump administration has also asked India to remove price caps on imported U.S. medical devices, open up its dairy market and cut duties on IT products.
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