Trump Raises Doubts Over India Trade Deal Ahead Of Visit, Says 'Saving It For Later'

The US President has said he is "saving the big deal" with India for later and he "does not know" if it will be done before the presidential election in November.

Just days before a scheduled visit to India, Donald Trump has cast doubts over the likelihood of an anticipated trade deal with India on Tuesday. (Getty images)

New Delhi: Just days before a scheduled visit to India, Donald Trump has cast doubts over the likelihood of an anticipated trade deal with India on Tuesday. The US President has said he is "saving the big deal" with India for later and he "does not know" if it will be done before the presidential election in November. With this, he has clearly indicated that a major bilateral trade deal the South Asian power during his visit to Delhi next week might not be on the cards. "We can have a trade deal with India. But I'm really saving the big deal for later," he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews Tuesday afternoon (local time). Trump is scheduled to visit India on February 24 and 25. The US and India could sign a "trade package" during the visit, according to media reports. Asked whether he expects a trade deal with India before the visit, Trump said, "We're doing a very big trade deal with India. We'll have it. I don't know if it'll be done before the election, but we'll have a very big deal with India." Watch | Trade deal unlikely during India's visit, hints Trump According to the sources, the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the point-person for trade negotiations with India, is likely to not accompany Trump to India. However, officials have not ruled it out altogether. In an apparent dissatisfaction over US-India trade ties, Trump said, "We're not treated very well by India." But he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is looking forward to his visit to India. "I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot," Trump said. "He told me we'll have seven million people between the airport and the event. And the stadium, I understand, is sort of semi under construction, but it's going to be the largest stadium in the world. So it's going to be very exciting... I hope you all enjoy it," he told reporters. Above all, the trade tensions between US and India have been running high since the Trump Administration's first blow in 2018 when it slapped tariffs on steel and aluminium exports from multiple countries, including India. Plenty of baggage has piled on since then. Delhi held off from immediate retaliation but finally allowed retaliatory tariffs to kick in June 2019 after the Trump administration revoked India's GSP status early 2019. In November 2018, US cranked up the pressure on countries importing oil from Iran, handed a six month waiver to India and then slammed the brakes altogether in Spring 2019. In October 2018, India signed a $5.5 billion deal to buy Russian S-400 air defence systems, which will begin arriving late 2020. The Trump administration's CAATSA sanctions strike at the heart of this deal and there are no guarantees yet of a waiver for India. Also Watch | History behind security measures of all US Presidents  (with inputs from agencies)