Though the US wants India to lower its tariffs on all of its exports to the country, President Donald Trump has announced to sale of F-35 fighter jets, crude oil and natural gas worth billions of dollars. He has expressed hope that the bilateral trade would soon reach $500 billion.
The India-US bilateral trade is expected to reach $192 billion in FY 2024-25, with New Delhi having a trade surplus of $45 billion.
Donald Trump Offers India F-35 Stealth Fighter
Welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House Thursday, the US President told journalists, “We’ll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We’re also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters.”
It is not yet known when the stealth bomber will be delivered, but defence experts believe, it will take years before the first bomber lands in India.
Talking about the deal, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India would go throgh an elaborate process for foreign military purchases.
It will also seek collaboration in joint manufacturing of the fighter.
What Is Stealth Fighter?
Lockheed Martin, the US Defence giant, that manufactures the F-35 jet, announced that any discussions about the sale of the F-35 to India would take place at the government-to-government level.
The Pentagon’s role is limited to playing an intermediary between the defense contractor and a foreign government.
The F-35 is a single-seat, single-engine, all-weather aircraft, with stealth multirole combat capacity.
The aircraft is also equipped with electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. It is designed for air superiority and strike missions.
Russia Offers Su-57 Stealth Fighter
Donald Trump has offered India F-35 at a time when Russia also has expressed interest in giving India with Su-57 stealth fighters.
Moscow has also offered to help New Delhi with an indigenous AMCA program.
AMCA or the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is an indigenously developed single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather fifth-generation stealth fighter with multirole combat capacity.
Donald Trump has also asked Narendra Modi to buy more crude oil and natural gas from the US.
Will India Increase Oil Import From India?
In his inaugural speech as the 47th US President on January 20, Donald Trump said that he would soon declare a “national energy emergency” to increase oil and gas production and bring prices down.
Reiterating the slogan of ‘drill, baby, drill”, he indicated a fracking boom and said that the US would become energy-independent.
However, India is importing cheaper crude oil from Russia. It bought Russian crude oil worth $61.43 billion in FY 2023-24, 33% more than the previous year.
India imported crude oil from Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Angola in 2024-25.
Angola replaced the US as the fifth largest crude supplier to India.
Will India Reduce Oil Import From Russia?
According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), New Delhi imports of Russian crude oil dropped by a massive 55% in November 2024, the lowest figure since June 2022.
Analysts believe the US would boost the fracking activity and sell the oil received by this method.
Fracking is a process that uses pressurised water, sand, and chemicals to extract oil and natural gas from shale rock. The US has vast reserves of shale rocks in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Colorado.
