'Tough as hell': Trump praises PM Modi, hints at long-pending US-India trade deal

US President Donald Trump, during his address at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEOs Luncheon in South Korea today, heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing PM Modi as the "nicest looking guy", who is "tough as hell".

"If you look at India and Pakistan — so I am doing a trade deal with India, and I've great respect and love for PM Modi...India and Pakistan were going at it; they are two nuclear nations. And I called PM Modi and told him that I can't do a trade deal with you ... then I called the Pakistan PM and told him we can't do trade with you because you're fighting with India. He’s (PM Modi) tough as hell... after literally two days, they (India and Pakistan) called up and they said, “We understand.” And they stopped fighting," Trump said.

Trump, however, didn't mention the timeline for when the long-pending trade deal will be signed between India and the US. Some see Trump's remarks as a positive sign after a series of events, including the imposition of 50% tariffs on India's exports to the US. These remarks also bear significance as they come close on the heels of some reports claiming that many Indian refiners have stopped placing new orders for Russian oil after the US imposed sanctions on Moscow's top two crude exporters, Lukoil and Rosneft.

India has also signalled that the much-awaited trade deal with the US could be nearing completion. Just last week, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said trade talks between India and the US were progressing and a “fair and equitable deal” was likely to be worked out in the near future. “We are in dialogue with the United States of America (USA). Our teams are engaged. We recently had the Commerce Secretary visit the US. And he met with his counterparts. We continue to engage with them, and the talks are progressing,” Goyal said.

Since Trump imposed 50% tariffs on India in August, the value of shipments to the United States from India has continued to slide, ever since the US imposed additional tariffs on goods originating from India. The monthly trade data for September shows that the overall exports declined 20% to touch $5.5 billion in September, from $6.87 billion in August. This has been the fourth month of consecutive decline, as per the Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

Meanwhile, to minimise the impact of the US tariffs, India has also expedited its trade talks with several countries in recent months. It signed the India-U.K. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in July. The India-Oman FTA talks have concluded. The expansion of the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement is underway, as are the FTA talks with South American countries such as Peru and Chile. The review of existing FTAs with ASEAN and Korea aims to strengthen India’s export base, making it a resilient trading power immune to the U.S.’s mood swings. At the SCO meeting and the July BRICS summit, India made its plans clear—to future-proof trade.