
US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday confirmed that Washington and New Delhi have formally finalised the terms of reference for the upcoming trade negotiations, calling it a critical step toward realising a long-awaited bilateral agreement.
"America and India have officially finalised the terms of reference for the trade negotiation," Vance said while speaking at the Rajasthan International Centre in Jaipur. "I believe this is a vital step toward realising President (Donald) Trump's and Prime Minister Modi's vision, because it sets a road map toward a final deal between our nations."
Vance, who is on a four-day visit to India with his family, made a strong defence of President Trump's trade policies. "Now, critics have attacked my president, President Trump, for starting a trade war in an effort to bring back the jobs of the past, but nothing could be further from the truth,” Vance said. “He seeks to rebalance global trade so that America, with friends like India, can build a future worth having for all of our people together.”
He also said the current US administration under Trump had long moved away from a different attitude towards India. "Too often in the past, Washington approached Prime Minister Modi with an attitude of preaching," he said. "Prior administrations saw India as a source of low-cost labour on the one hand, even as they criticised the Prime Minister's government, arguably the most popular in the democratic world.”
“As I told Prime Minister Modi last night, he's got approval ratings that would make me jealous,” he added, drawing applause. “Our kids just like him. And I think that, because kids are such good, strong judges of character, I just like Prime Minister Modi, too. And I think it's a great foundation for the future of a relationship.”
During his address, Vance outlined key areas where the US and India can deepen cooperation — military engagement, infrastructure, and frontier technologies. “America does more military exercises with India than we do with any other nation on Earth,” he said. “Second, to build great things, and finally, to innovate the cutting-edge technologies both our countries will need in the years to come.”
On the energy front, he emphasised America’s role in helping India reach its nuclear energy and artificial intelligence goals. "We believe that American energy can help realize India's nuclear power production goals, and this is very important, as well as its AI ambitions, because, as the United States knows well, and I know that India knows well, there is no AI future without energy security and energy dominance,” he noted.
Vance concluded his remarks by reiterating a message of mutual respect and shared heritage. “Like you, we want to appreciate our history, our culture, our religion, we want to do commerce and strike good deals with our friends. We want to find our vision of the future upon the proud recognition of our heritage rather than self-loathing and fear,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the US Vice President visited the historic Amber Fort in Jaipur.