AS THE two-day talks between India and the US trade team in New Delhi drew to a close on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in the evening that he spoke with US President Donald Trump and they reviewed the progress of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, and discussed among other issues the importance of sustaining momentum in the efforts to enhance bilateral trade.“Had a very warm and engaging conversation with President Trump. We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity,” Modi said on social media platform X.Modi’s conversation with Trump comes less than two months after Trump wished him on Diwali.According to government sources, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the steady strengthening of bilateral cooperation across all domains. “They exchanged views on expanding cooperation in critical technologies, energy, defence and security, and other priority areas central to the implementation of the India-US COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce and Technology) for the 21st century,” a source said.As trade talks took place in Delhi, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in Mumbai a trade deal is done when both countries stand to benefit from it and that United States Trade Representative (USTR) should “sign on the dotted lines” of the trade deal if the US believed it has received the “best offer” from New Delhi.USTR Jamieson Greer had a day before said in Washington DC that the US has received the “best” offer from India, but that India was a “difficult nut to crack” owing to its resistance to importing American agricultural products. India is facing steep 50 per cent US tariffs, the highest globally. After the US, Mexico also imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India and other Asian countries over fears of rerouting of goods.Responding to a question on the holdup despite USTR’s best offer comment Goyal said, “His happiness is very much welcome. I do believe that if they are very happy, they should be signing on the dotted line,” Goyal said.Story continues below this ad‘Not aware of the basis of CEA’s comments’Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday said that he was expecting the India-US trade deal to be signed by the end of November and that the absence of a trade deal has had an impact on the investors’ sentiments.“I will be surprised if the India-US deal is not sealed by the end of the financial year. I was hoping that something would be done by the end of November. I agree with you that it has had an impact on the investors’ sentiments, and as and when the deal is agreed upon, there will be a huge weight lifted off the shoulders of the Indian markets,” the CEA said in an interview to Bloomberg TV.Responding to a question citing CEA’s comment on the deadline of the trade deal, Goyal said, “I am not aware of the basis of the CEA’s comments. I can only say that negotiations are progressing well. We have had substantive discussions over several rounds of negotiations. In the past 5 rounds happened, but the current visit is not a negotiating round.”“A deal is only done when both sides stand to benefit. And I don’t think we should ever negotiate with deadlines or hardstops because you tend to make mistakes,” Goyal said.Story continues below this adThreat of more tariffsEarlier, on Monday, US President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on Indian rice over concerns of dumping in the US market. Trump’s comments came after a Louisiana-based US farmer representative, in a White House-hosted roundtable, said they are struggling due to the dumping of rice in the US by countries such as India, China, and Thailand, where Trump subsequently responded by saying countries should not be dumping rice in the US and that tariffs will solve the problem.Picking just India among the three countries named by the farmer representative, Trump asked US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent: “Why is India allowed to do that? They have to pay tariffs. Do they have an exemption on rice?” When Bessent said the US is still working on a trade deal with India, Trump reiterated, “but they [India] shouldn’t be doing that..I have heard this from others. “We will get it settled. Tariffs solve the problem in two minutes…,” Trump said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Independence Day speech, had reiterated that India will not compromise on the well-being of its farmers, fisherfolk, and cattle keepers, amid a standoff in trade negotiations with the US over access for American products in India’s agriculture and dairy market.The US annually exports soybeans worth $30 billion, maize $17.2 billion, wheat $7.3 billion and rice $1.9 billion, largely to China, Mexico, the EU, and Japan, as per the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).