U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought to reduce heightened trade tension with India on Wednesday, promising a renewed focus on negotiating better ties, but giving few specifics of how they would overcome disputes over trade and investment. Pompeo’s India visit comes as the two countries grapple with issues ranging from access to Indian markets for American firms to New Delhi’s demand for foreign companies to store Indian data in the country, and exports of steel and aluminum to the U.S. The two nations are “friends who can help each other all around the world,” Pompeo told a joint news conference with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar after they met.
