What’s really riding on US Vice President JD Vance’s trip to India?

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday called for enhanced engagement with India and said that the South Asian country should buy more defense equipment and energy from the U.S. and allow Washington greater access to its market, lending momentum to an expected bilateral trade deal.

Vance, who is on a four-day visit to India, said that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi made progress on trade talks during their discussions on Monday, and confirmed that both sides had finalized the terms of reference for the trade negotiation — a vital step towards setting the road map for the final agreement.

India and the U.S. hope to seal a bilateral trade agreement this year and have set an ambitious target of more than doubling their bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. If achieved, the trade deal could significantly enhance economic ties between both countries and potentially strengthen diplomatic ties as well.

“We of course want to collaborate more. We want to work together more and we want your nation to buy more of our military equipment which of course we believe is the best in class," Vance said at an event in the western city of Jaipur, where he, his wife Usha Vance and their three children were on a sightseeing tour.

Vance’s first visit to New Delhi came amid the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s partially-paused tariff program against most countries, including India. Earlier this month, Trump announced a 90-day pause in which imports from most countries would face a baseline 10% tax so that there was time to hold talks and possibly structure broader deals.

The trade negotiations are especially urgent for India and could help New Delhi avoid sharp U.S. tariffs. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has portrayed its strategy of tariffs as forcing negotiations that could limit the reach and influence of China, the world’s dominant manufacturer and New Delhi’s main rival in the region.

At the event, Vance sought to assuage fears over Trump’s tariff decisions and said his administration was seeking to rebalance global trade so that the U.S., with friends like India, can build a better future. He said that trade relations must be based on fairness.

"Both of our governments are hard at work on a trade agreement, built on shared priorities like creating new jobs, building durable supply chains, and achieving prosperity for our workers," Vance said.

Vance said that he was in India to strengthen ties between both nations, and criticized previous governments for looking at New Delhi as a cheap source of labor.

Washington has long sought to develop a deeper partnership with New Delhi, which is seen as a bulwark against China. Modi has established a good working relationship with Trump, and the two leaders are likely to further boost cooperation between their countries.

Modi was also among the first leaders to visit the U.S. and hold talks with Trump that kickstarted a negotiation process to minimize the possible fallout of Trump’s tariffs. The two leaders also said they planned to grow their defense partnership.

India is a close partner of the U.S. and is part of the Quad, which is made up of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia, and is seen as a counterbalance to China’s expansion in the region. It is also a major defense partner of the U.S., a status only enjoyed by some of the closest allies of Washington.

In recent years, India has embedded advanced American jets, helicopters, missiles and other equipment into its armed forces and the two countries have announced plans to sign a 10-year framework later this year to further strengthen the defense partnership.