By Nandita Bose, Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) -India and the U.S. agreed on Thursday to start talks to clinch an early trade deal and resolve their standoff over tariffs as New Delhi promised to buy more U.

President Donald Trump has met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and vowed to bring “fairness and reciprocity” to the countries’ economic relationship, which he said would involve reducing U.S.

The partnership is a pillar of Washington’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific region but faces challenges on issues including illegal immigration, visas and trade deficits.