JD Vance Urges India To 'Maybe Consider Dropping Some Of The Non-Tariff Barriers' In Trade Speech

Forbes Breaking News

In remarks at the Rajasthan Centre in Jaipur, India, Vice President JD Vance spoke about the U.S.-India economic relationship, and urged India to drop some non-tariff barriers.

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00:00but at much lower energy costs.

00:03We also want to help India explore its own considerable natural resources,

00:07including its offshore natural gas reserves and critical mineral supplies.

00:12We have the capacity and we have the desire to help.

00:17Moreover, we think energy co-production will help beat unfair competitors in other foreign markets.

00:23But India, we believe, can go a long way to enhance energy ties between our nations.

00:28And one suggestion I'd have is maybe consider dropping some of the non-tariff barriers

00:33for American access to the Indian market.

00:37Now, we've talked about this, of course, with Prime Minister Modi.

00:39And look, President Trump and I know that Prime Minister Modi is a tough negotiator.

00:44He drives a hard bargain. It's one of the reasons why we respect him.

00:51And we don't blame Prime Minister Modi for fighting for India's industry.

00:56But we do blame American leaders of the past for failing to do the same for our workers.

01:02And we believe that we can fix that to the mutual benefit of both the United States and India.

01:08Let me give an example.

01:09American ethanol, we believe made from the finest corn in the world,

01:14can play a tremendous role in enhancing our partnership.

01:17And I know our farmers would be delighted to support India's energy security ambitions.

01:23We welcome the Modi government's budget announcement to amend India's civil nuclear liability laws,

01:28which currently prevent U.S. producers from exporting small modular reactors

01:33and building larger U.S.-designed reactors in India.

01:37There's much that we can create, much that we can do together.

01:42We believe that American energy can help realize India's nuclear power production goals,

01:46and this is very important, as well as its AI ambitions.

01:50Because as the United States knows well, and I know that India knows well,

01:54there is no AI future without energy security and energy dominance.

02:00And that brings me to my final point of collaboration.

02:03I believe that the technological collaboration between our countries is going to extend well beyond

02:09defense and energy.

02:10The U.S.-India Trust Initiative that President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have launched

02:15will be a cornerstone of the partnership in the future.

02:19It will build on billions of dollars of planned investments that American companies have already

02:24announced across India.

02:25In the years to come, we're going to see data centers, pharmaceuticals, undersea cables,

02:31and countless other critical goods being developed and being built because of the American

02:36and Indian economic partnership.

02:39And I'll say it again, I think that our nations have so much to gain by investing in one another.

02:44America investing in India, and of course, India investing in the United States of America.

02:50And I know that Americans, our people, are excited about that prospect,

02:54and that President Trump and I are looking forward to stronger ties.

02:59Americans want further access to Indian markets.

03:01This is a great place to do business, and we want to give our people more access to this country.

03:06And Indians, we believe, will thrive from greater commerce in the United States.

03:11This is very much a win-win partnership. It certainly will be far into the future.

03:18And, as I know this audience knows better than most, neither Americans nor Indians are alone

03:24in looking to scale up their manufacturing capacity.

03:28The competition extends well beyond cheap consumer goods and into munitions, energy,

03:35infrastructure, and all sorts of other cutting-edge technologies.

03:39I believe that if our nations fail to keep pace, the consequences for the Indo-Pacific,

03:45but really the consequences for the entire world, will be quite dire.

03:48And this, again, is where India and the United States have so much to offer one another.

03:53We've got great hardware, the leading artificial intelligence hardware in the world.

03:58You have one of the most exciting startup technology infrastructures anywhere in the world.

04:04There's a lot to be gained by working together.

04:07And this is why President Trump and I both welcome India's leadership in a number of diplomatic

04:13organizations, but, of course, in the Quad.

04:16We believe a stronger India means greater economic prosperity, but also greater stability across the

04:22Indo-Pacific, which is, of course, a shared goal for all of us in this room and is a shared goal for both of our countries.

04:37So,

04:40you

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