US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, 17 June declared that the United States was 'very close' to sealing a trade agreement with India, following a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian. The remarks signal the most optimistic public assessment from Washington in months of ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries.

What Trump Said

When asked directly how close the two sides were to finalising a deal, Trump offered a crisp two-word answer: 'Very close.' He then pivoted to an extended, characteristically colourful assessment of Modi's negotiating style, describing the Prime Minister as deceptively formidable at the bargaining table.

'He's a very tough negotiator. He's one of the toughest, actually,' Trump said. He added that Modi's affable public persona often caught counterparts off guard: 'He gets you by surprise. People say he's such a nice man. I said he's very tough. He's a tough negotiator.'

Trump also underscored the breadth of the bilateral agenda beyond trade. 'A lot of things are happening between the United States and India,' he said, noting that Modi had been directing significant Indian investment into the United States. 'The Prime Minister's building a lot in the United States. He's spending a lot of money in the United States.'

Trump on the Bilateral Relationship

The US President went further, describing the India-US relationship in unusually warm terms. 'As long as I'm president, they have a great friend in the White House,' he said, responding to questions about concerns in India over recent US policy decisions.

'India can do anything they want with us. We have the best relationship. We cannot be closer than we are,' Trump said. The remarks were among the most effusive he has made about any bilateral relationship at the G7 gathering.

What PM Modi Said

Prime Minister Modi described the engagement as a continuation of momentum built at an earlier summit. 'We had an extremely productive meeting in Washington last year, and since then we have given new speed and new energy to our relations,' he said. 'Our teams have also been working in close coordination and engagement,' Modi added, indicating that technical-level negotiations between the two governments have been active.

Context and What Is at Stake

The United States is one of India's largest trading partners, and India is an increasingly significant market for American goods and services. Both governments have been pushing to expand market access, strengthen supply chains, and increase investment flows — a priority that has gained urgency amid global supply chain realignments following the COVID-19 pandemic and rising geopolitical competition with China.

Notably, the G7 sideline meeting comes at a sensitive moment: Washington has been recalibrating trade relationships with several partners simultaneously, and a deal with India would mark a significant diplomatic and economic milestone for both administrations. How close 'very close' actually is — in terms of outstanding tariff and market-access disputes — remains to be seen when negotiators return to the table.