Asheville — The White House on Monday described India as a dynamic, strong and resilient economy after official data showed the country’s gross domestic product grew 7.8%.
White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai said the latest GDP figures reinforced the Trump administration’s view of India as a rapidly expanding economic power.
“India’s a very dynamic and very strong and resilient economy,” Desai said during an interview on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina.
Desai said India’s large economy and rapid growth create significant opportunities for U.S. companies and investors looking to expand into new markets.
“India’s obviously a very large economy,” he said, adding that it “represents a lot of opportunities” for American and global industries.
Desai described India’s economic expansion as “a very exciting story” for both the U.S. government and American businesses.
He said the Trump administration is seeking to encourage greater U.S. investment in India while also attracting more Indian investment to the United States.
“The president and administration are very keen to grow and develop that bilateral trade and economic relationship,” Desai said.
He also emphasized the importance President Donald Trump places on ties with India, pointing to the president’s relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The American Indo-Indian relationship is of very high importance to him,” Desai said. “He’s often talked about his personal friendship with Prime Minister Modi.”
Desai said he expected “a lot of productive discussions” between the two governments in the coming days and over the longer term.
Economic ties between India and the United States are also expected to feature in discussions involving U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other finance ministers attending the G20 meeting.
Desai said Bessent remains in regular contact with his international counterparts and that the Asheville meeting would place economic growth at the center of the G20 agenda.
“A big topic of discussion is going to be restoring economic growth as the north star of the G20,” he said.
He added that officials would examine ways to “turbocharge global economic growth” while raising wages and living standards.
On the proposed India-U.S. trade agreement, Desai said negotiations had progressed from broad political understandings to detailed technical discussions.
“There’s obviously broad agreement at the leader-to-leader level,” he said.
Desai said technical teams are now working “to iron out the smaller nitty-gritty details,” including tariff classifications under the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
“We’re very optimistic about that,” he said, adding that Trump “wants a strong partnership, both economic and political” with India.
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule is used by the United States to classify imported goods and determine applicable customs duties. Product classifications and tariff treatment are among the technical issues typically addressed in trade negotiations.
India and the United States have developed a broad economic relationship spanning trade, investment, energy, manufacturing and emerging technologies. The two countries also cooperate through the G20 and other international forums on global economic and financial issues. (Source: IANS)
