India-US Dialogue In Osaka

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On the side-lines of the G20 Osaka Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted nine bilaterals (with Australia, Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the US), two tri-laterals (Japan, India, US as well as Russia, India, China) and also an informal meeting of BRICS leaders in a span of three days. While the main agenda of the G20 was to discuss global economics; trade and geo-politics are interlinked and interdependent. Trade is a major concern between India and the United States. Issues related to trade were discussed by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump in a bilateral meeting.

One of the major outcomes of the G20 Summit was the detente in the ongoing trade war between China and the US. India is closely watching the negotiations between the two nations as it tries to address its own differences with the US on tariffs. President Trump had criticised India’s high tariffs and wants New Delhi to lower its trade barriers. India has raised tariffs on 28 items, including almond, pulses and walnut, exported from the US in retaliation to America's withdrawal of preferential access for Indian products. India has taken the US to the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism over the imposition of import duties on steel and aluminium. The matter was also discussed by US Secretary of State Pompeo during his brief visit to India just before the G20 Summit. It has now been decided by New Delhi and Washington that the trade ministers of the two nations would meet at the earliest to resolve the issues

Apart from trade, the other issues that were discussed between the Indian Prime Minister and American President were 5-G technology, defence relations and Iran. On Iran, India’s primary focus is on stability and peace in the Persian Gulf region. However, the escalating regional crisis has necessitated the deployment of Indian Navy ships to ensure the free movement of Indian vessels. This was appreciated by the US, which has assured that it would ensure that oil supplies to India are not affected.
An important agenda point was 5-G technology, especially in the wake of the US allowing American companies to continue to do business with Huawei. India is looking at 5-G technology and the issues of security raised by the US are now being studied in India too. The US is developing its technological expertise in the new technology and is looking at India for both business and technical opportunities; while India is looking for collaborations and for the technological development and design process. India may offer upto a billion users of this technology and essentially would guide global trends on this matter. The focus is to build on

how 5-G capabilities in design, technology and software development came be made a part of  “Make in India” campaign. This would allow Indian and US business and industry to work together beyond the relations shared by the two governments.

Another area of collaboration for the two nations has been in the defence sector. While not much was discussed during the meeting in Osaka, India has been deepening its defence relations with the US which also includes the security partnership in the broader Indo-Pacific region. This issue was a point of discussion in the Indian Prime Minister’s meeting with the US President and Japanese Prime Minister for the second JAI (Japan America India) trilateral. The trilateral discussed the ways that the three countries could work together in the area of connectivity and infrastructure for the larger development of the region. The three nations also share similar goals of ensuring peace and security so that the benefits of new concepts are shared by region as a whole. The three countries have also agreed to hold an annual Summit to build on existing mutual cooperation in the maritime sector of the Indian Ocean Region. This is significant in view of the growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Script: Dr. Stuti Banerjee, Strategic Analyst on American Affairs

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