‘Phone Pe’: Prime Minister Modi And US President Donald Trump Discuss Trade Deficit, Role In Afghanistan 

The White House on Monday (7 January) said that US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions on various topics such as increasing their cooperation in Afghanistan and reducing the US trade deficit with India over a telephonic conversation, reports The Hindustan Times.

“The leaders agreed to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership in 2019 and exchanged perspectives on how to reduce the US trade deficit with India, expand security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, and increase cooperation in Afghanistan,” said the White House in a statement.

As part of Trump’s drive to reduce the US trade deficit and boost American manufacturing jobs, the United States has slapped tariffs on imports of aluminium and steel from India.

There was a threat of retaliation by India against the sanctions, but it said it would wait until the end of this month to take action.

Trump also has plans of withdrawing more than 5,000 of the 14,000 US troops present in Afghanistan, said a US official in December 2018.

The United States will curtail its missions with a reduced military presence in Afghanistan and will not be able to carry out mass-scale operations like advising and training Afghan forces and waging an air campaign against militant groups holed up in the country.