, Columnist
Trump Has Us Talking About Trade Again. That’s a Win
Populists like Modi and the US president find it easier to make deals than leaders driven by ideology.
Modi and Trump talk trade.
Photographer: Francis Chung/PoliticoThis article is for subscribers only.
For four years, Indians sensed that the US was terrified of the word “trade.” Joint statements after summits buried trade such issues somewhere near the end; officials avoided the question at press conferences, preferring to focus instead on relatively esoteric concerns such as cooperation in space.
For better or worse — but mainly for better — that has changed under President Donald Trump. The big news out of his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday was that the two leaders committed to negotiating the first tranche of a “mutually beneficial” trade agreement by fall.