Washington DC [US], August 21 (ANI): India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, on Wednesday (local time), discussed with the Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus, Senator John Cornyn from Texas, focusing on strengthening bilateral trade and cooperation in hydrocarbons, particularly between the US state of Texas and India.

In a post on X, Kwatra expressed gratitude for Cornyn's consistent support for the India-US relationship and highlighted the importance of trade engagement rooted in mutual respect.

'Had a productive discussion with Senator John Cornyn, Co-Chair of India Caucus in the US Senate. Grateful to him for his support to the bilateral relationship. Discussed issues of mutual interest and highlighted the importance of bilateral trade engagement grounded in mutual respect. We also discussed enhancing bilateral cooperation further in hydrocarbons, particularly between Texas and India,' Kwatra wrote in his post.

Earlier, Ambassador Kwatra also held a conversation with Congressman Andy Barr, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions & Monetary Policy and Vice Co-Chair of the India Caucus in the House of Representatives.

'Had a productive conversation today with Congressman Andy Barr, Chairman of House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions & Monetary Policy. We continued our exchange of thoughts on the many possibilities of enhancing US-India bilateral trade & investment partnership. Thankful for his strong leadership and consistent support for the relationship as vice-Co-Chair of India Caucus in the House of Representatives,' he stated in a separate post on X.

The engagement comes amid economic concerns over US President Donald Trump's imposition of additional tariffs on India due to New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil.

Meanwhile, the White House on Tuesday (local time) defended Trump's decision to impose steep tariffs on India, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent, citing the need to put secondary pressure on Russia over the Ukraine war.

'Look, the president has put tremendous public pressure to bring this war to a close. He's taken actions, as you've seen, sanctions on India and other actions as well. He's made himself very clear that he wants to see this war end,' Leavitt said during her briefing. (ANI)