US President Donald Trump wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a phone call on 16 September on his birthday eve as he turned 75 the next day. President Trump’s call to PM Modi a day before his birthday, as the two nations continue to deepen strategic and economic ties.
Prime Minister Modi expressed his gratitude to President Trump for the phone call and warm greetings on his 75th birthday. “Like you, I am also fully committed to taking the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership to new heights. We support your initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict”, Modi said in a post on X after the phone call.
The exchange between the two leaders came hours after India and the United States held a round of “positive” trade talks in New Delhi. In fact, Donald Trump was the first world leader to wish his ‘friend’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, he said, is doing a ‘tremendous’ job.
The two leaders spoke hours after India and the United States were back at the negotiating table to work out a trade deal in New Delhi today. This raised hopes for a breakthrough weeks after President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.
US Trade Representative for South Asia Brendan Lynch led the American side during the day-long negotiations on Tuesday. Senior Commerce Ministry official Rajesh Agarwal represented India during the meeting, which turned out to be ‘positive.’
The trade talks took place after the much-deferred arrival of the US delegation in New Delhi. Trump imposed a punitive 25 per cent levy on India on August 27, doubling overall tariffs to 50 per cent.
President Trump has been striking a conciliatory tone in recent statements and has expressed optimism that a trade deal could be finalised soon. This is in contrast with earlier tensions between the two nations marked by sharp jibes by US officials, even as India.
In fact, hours before Tuesday’s meeting in New Delhi, Trump’s trade advisor in White House, Peter Navarro said India was “coming to the negotiating table.” In recent weeks, Navarro had indulged in an India offensive and even accused New Delhi of profiteering from Moscow’s war in Ukraine and branded it the Kremlin’s “laundromat.”
On August 27, the day US tariffs on India kicked in, former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla expressed hope that India will be able to conclude a ‘satisfactory mutually beneficial’ Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US.
Shringla, who is also a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, expressed hope in the ‘close and special partnership’ between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump.
Shringla referred to the “Howdy Modi and Namaste Trump” events, which emphasised the friendship between the two leaders during US President Trump’s first term.
In September 2019, then-US President Donald Trump hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Texas at the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event, which was attended by an estimated 50,000 people. A year later, Modi welcomed Trump to his home state of Gujarat for an event attended by over 120,000 people.
Trump lost the US Presidential Election 2020 to Joe Biden. He came back to power four years later.
In February 2025, Narendra Modi was among the first world leaders to visit the US since Trump’s inauguration for his second presidential term in January.
India has had a strong relationship with the US, based on years of diplomatic and economic cooperation. In 2024, India and the US conducted trade in goods and services worth $186 billion, with a surplus of $41 billion in India’s favour.
Trump has repeatedly called India a ‘good friend’, but his recent statements and subsequent tariffs have seemingly affected the relationship.
Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods come into effect today. According to a report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), the exports of the country’s labour-intensive sectors brace for a collapse of up to 70 per cent as US tariffs take effect.
It seems that Donald Trump will oppose anyone who buys oil from Russia. India remains among the top two buyers, along with China. US officials and analysts still see the Delhi-Moscow oil trade as an issue between the US and India in the future. An India-US trade deal is due in November, 2025.
On its part, India has maintained its stand on the trade negotiations since the beginning. India would not allow the free flow of American farm and dairy produce, as PM Modi has promised to protect farmers’ interests. And US officials have mentioned corn, for instance, as something India ought to buy as part of a fair deal.
Prime Minister Modi is not travelling to New York for the UNGA summit later this month, according to reports.
India is set to host the Quad Leaders Summit later this year, though the date is yet to be finalised. During his visit to the US in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Donald Trump to attend the meeting.
With strained ties, Trump’s attendance at the Quad summit was unlikely. But Sergio Gor, Donald Trump’s nominee for the next US ambassador to New Delhi, said earlier this week that the president remains committed to sustained engagement with the Quad, hinting he may travel to India later this year for the summit amid trade tensions between the two nations.
(With agency inputs)
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