New Delhi: India and the United States noted “significant progress” on moving toward trade talks after Vice President J.D. Vance met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as New Delhi looks to secure a deal that would prevent the return of suspended Trump-era tariffs.India had announced last week that the two sides had already signed the terms of reference for negotiations on the first phase of the deal. On Monday, the US said the two leaders “formally announced” the finalisation of these terms following their talks.There was no public sign that the Indian side raised concerns about Indian students getting their visa cancelled amid the crackdown on international students by the Trump administration. Several have already approached US courts to challenge the move. Indian students are the largest cohort among international students in the United States.Also read: As India Bends to Trump, the WTO Paves Way for the Washington Trade OrganizationVance’s four-day visit – marking the first by a US vice president to India in over a decade – began on Monday morning with the arrival of Air Force Two at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. He was accompanied by his wife, Usha Vance, whose parents immigrated from India, and their three children.After a day visiting Akshardham temple and unannounced private meetings, the Vance family arrived at the Prime Minister’s residence shortly before 7 PM. The two leaders first held formal talks, after which Modi hosted the family for dinner.In its readout, the Indian government said both sides “welcomed the significant progress in the negotiations for a mutually beneficial India-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement focused on the welfare of the people of the two countries”.The US statement echoed this, saying the two leaders had “welcomed significant progress in the negotiations for a U.S.-India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA)” and “formally announced the finalization of the Terms of Reference for the negotiations, laying down a roadmap for further discussions about our shared economic priorities”.It further claimed that the agreement was an “an opportunity to negotiate a new and modern trade agreement focused on promoting job creation and citizen well-being in both countries, with the goal of enhancing bilateral trade and supply-chain integration in a balanced and mutually beneficial manner”.During Modi’s visit to Washington in February, India and the US had agreed to begin talks aimed at concluding a trade agreement by the end of the year. Just ahead of his White House meeting, Donald Trump had announced plans to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs on all US trading partners.Also read: What Concerns About the Waqf Amendment Bill Does the JPC’s Report Identify?On April 2, Trump went ahead with the move, announcing a set of unexpectedly high tariffs, including a 26% duty on Indian imports. Some of those measures were reversed within hours on April 9 after negative market reaction prompted a pause of 90 days. However, a minimum 10% tariff rate which came into effect on April 5 remains in place for all countries, including India.India’s commerce secretary Sunil Bharthwal said on April 15 that both sides had finalised the terms of reference and would aim to conclude the “first tranche by Fall”. Chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, additional secretary in the commerce department, said formal negotiations could begin in the second half of May.An Indian delegation is expected to travel to Washington this week as part of the preparatory talks.Reuters had reported last month that India was willing to cut tariffs on more than half of US imports worth USD 23 billion in the first phase.The Indian statement on the Vance-Modi talks also said Modi “looked forward” to a visit by President Trump later this year, when India is due to host a Quad summit. The US readout made no mention of such a visit.Each side also nodded to the other’s political messaging – the Indian statement referred to “Make America Great Again”, while the US readout mentioned India’s “Amrit Kaal”.Following the talks in Delhi, Vance left directly for the airport to travel to Jaipur, where he will stay two nights. He will also be travelling to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.