United States Vice President J D Vance and his wife Usha, the first Indian-American Second Lady, will visit India early next week that will see him hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid increasing global trade disruptions over Trump administration’s tariff tussle.
The US vice president is visiting Italy and India from April 18 to 24, his office announced on Wednesday. The Vances are expected to bring their three young children — Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel — to India and the American Second Family will travel to Jaipur and Agra besides New Delhi.
“The Vice President will discuss shared economic and geopolitical priorities with leaders in each country,” his office said in a statement that was released in Delhi by the US embassy.”In India, the Vice President will visit New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra. The Vice President will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” it said.
The US readout said Vance and the Second Family will also participate in engagements at cultural sites in India.
The US vice president is travelling to India against the backdrop of Trump’s policy on tariffs that triggered massive trade disruptions and fears of a global economic recession.
Days after his reciprocal tariff kicked in this month, Trump announced a 90-day pause on it for all countries, except China as countries around the world wilted under the impact of the seismic action.
US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz had also planned to visit India early next week but the trip has been postponed, people familiar with the matter said.
Vance’s visit is likely to be more of a private trip though it will have official components, the people cited above said.
It is learnt that the US vice president will hold talks with Prime Minister Modi on April 21 which will cover various aspects of India-US ties including the issue of tariff and the ongoing negotiations between the two sides for a bilateral trade agreement.
In Rome, Vance will hold talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni before meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin to participate in ceremonies ahead of Easter Sunday.
The visit by US Vice President Vance is taking place weeks after US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard travelled to India.The DNI held separate meetings with Prime Minister Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval.
The US president’s tariff tussle has stoked fears of a global trade war.
Following talks between Modi and Trump in Washington DC in February, the two sides announced that they would negotiate the first tranche of the BTA by the fall of 2025.
