India plans to increase its purchases of U.S. oil and LNG to reduce its trade surplus with the United States and potentially avoid the imposition of tariffs.

Indian oil companies are looking to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), buoyed by the Trump administration's lifting of a ban on export permits for new projects, Oil Secretary Pankaj Jain said on Monday.

India's top importers of liquefied natural gas are holding talks to buy more fuel from U.S. suppliers, ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s expected meeting with President Trump this week, Bloomberg reported Monday.