Washington, Sep 11 (UNI) US President Donald Trump is understood to have said that India has expressed its desire to have a trade deal with his country despite the tough stance taken by his administration on the issue.
Trump wants to stop the subsidies that growing economies like India and China have been receiving as he wants the US, which he considers as a developing nation, to grow faster than any other nation.
He often accuses India of imposing 100 per cent tariffs on American products.
"Frankly, I'll tell you, India called us the other day. They said they would like to start doing a trade deal, first time," Trump said without mentioning who called up whom.
"They wouldn't talk about it with previous administrations. They were very happy with the way it was," Trump told his supporters on Friday at a Joint Fundraising Committee Reception, in Sioux Falls in South Dakota.
Trump said his trade representatives headed by Bob Lighthizer (the US Trade Representative) are very tough, smart and very good.
The United States and Japan have also started discussions over trade, he said.
Trump said that he has become friends with foreign leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
"Practically, every time a foreign leader comes in to see me, whether it's Abe of Japan, whether it's Modi of India, I've become friends with all of them," he said.
UNi XC-SNU 1508