Donald Trump shares update on India-US trade deal, calls PM Modi ‘tough as hell’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was working on a trade deal with India, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “tough” and “strong” leader.

Speaking in South Korea ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Trump said, “I’m doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love for Prime Minister Modi. We have a great relationship.”

In his trademark off-the-cuff style, Trump recounted the recent episode of military conflict between India and Pakistan and repeated his claim of helping defuse the tensions.

“I called Prime Minister Modi and said, ‘we can’t make a trade deal with you — you’re starting a war with Pakistan. We're not going to do it.’ And then I called Pakistan and said, ‘we’re not going to do trade with you because you’re fighting with India’,” he said.

“After literally two days, they called up and they said, we understand, and they stopped fighting. Isn’t that amazing?” Trump told an audience in Seoul.

He described Modi as “the nicest-looking guy” but “tough as hell.”

Trump also took a jab at his predecessor, saying, “Now, you think Biden would have done that? I don’t think so.”

Trump’s remarks come as trade negotiations between India and the United States gain momentum after years of on-and-off discussions.

In Berlin, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said Thursday that talks on a proposed bilateral trade agreement were “progressing,” expressing hope that both countries would work toward a “fair and equitable” deal soon.

“We are in dialogue with the USA, our teams are engaged,” Goyal told state broadcaster Doordarshan. “We hope to work towards a fair and equitable agreement in the near future.”

An Indian delegation led by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal held three days of talks with US counterparts in Washington earlier this month, wrapping up the fifth round of negotiations on October 17. The two sides are aiming to finalise the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by late 2025.

According to Indian officials, discussions have focused on rolling back some of the steep tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term, which had nearly doubled the effective duties on Indian exports to the US to around 50%.

Washington is reportedly considering easing part of that tariff burden in exchange for India’s commitment to diversify its energy imports and gradually reduce dependence on Russian crude oil.

The US has been India’s largest trading partner for four consecutive years, with bilateral trade reaching $131.8 billion in 2024–25. However, India’s merchandise exports to the US fell nearly 12% in September due to high tariffs, while imports from the US rose about 12%, according to official data.

The proposed deal is seen as a major step toward doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.