U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump will start their two-day visit to India on Monday, which is Trump's first to the world's fifth largest economy since he took office.

Expectations for the visit are high – boosting counter-terrorism cooperation, deepening engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, augmenting defense and trade ties and addressing India's concerns over H1B visas, India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar predicted the outcomes of the visit on Thursday.

However, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) had issued a notice earlier removing India from the list of developing countries and listing it as a developed economy, making it ineligible for benefits given by Washington to developing countries.

Judging from these clues, it seems too early to be too optimistic about the visit.

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Tensions between the United States and India have risen since Washington removed India's special trade status last May. The special trade status gives India duty-free access to exports worth 5.6 billion U.S. dollars.

In response, India announced retaliatory tariffs on 28 American goods, including apples and almonds.

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India is demanding exemption from high duties imposed by the U.S. on certain steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under the Generalised System of Preferences, and greater market access for its products from sectors like agriculture, automobile, auto components and engineering. 

On the other hand, the U.S. wants greater market access for its farm and manufacturing products, dairy items and medical devices, data localization, and cut on import duties on some information and communication technology (ICT) products. 

"My expectation is that a limited trade deal would certainly be signed, if not at the time of the visit, then very close ahead. And many more deals may either be concluded or taken a lot closer to conclusion during the time of the visit," said Sajiv Menon, chairman of the Indo American Chamber of Commerce's Kerala Chapter.

Another expert pointed out that a significant breakthrough is not that easy.

"The U.S. feels that if they give in in terms of India they would also have to agree to similar arrangements with the Europeans and others," said Arul Louis, a senior fellow at the Society for Policy Studies. "It is the current main sticking point."

"We're doing a very big trade deal with India. We'll have it. I don't know if it'll be done before the election, but we'll have a very big deal with India," Trump said ahead of his visit, but turned the tune later. 

"We're not treated very well by India, but I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot," he said.

The thing is, no matter what kind of deal there is on cards, the visit will certainly be a good chance for both Trump and Modi to boost the morale as they are both in adversity.

Trump's impeachment proceedings have just ended with him being acquitted on all counts, but it is too early for the president to relax his vigilance as the U.S. is gearing up for a dramatic 2020 presidential race.

Experts believe that Trump's acquittal will further mobilize support from the Republican Party and its core voters, but the broader controversies caused by Trump's impeachment will also affect the outcome of Republican lawmakers in the 2020 congressional elections. 

A successful visit will help woo the support of hundreds of thousands of Indian-American voters – in 2017, the population of Indian-Americans with multiple ethnicities hit 4,402,363, according to the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT). 

An important constituency of Trump's voters has been Hindu non-resident Indians, who made large donations and came out in strong support during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

"I think the objective is when you go down and have a mega rally, you want to send a message to Indian Americans that you have a president who cares about India," said Mukesh Aghi, president and CEO of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum.

On the other hand, Modi, who won the 17th general elections last May, has also been stuck in mire with internal and external troubles: Bad economic performance, India's controversial Citizenship Law, and the Kashmir issue with Pakistan.

Trump's visit offers a useful distraction from the domestic political troubles and serves to bolster Modi's image as a respected leader on the world stage.

"It sends a very strong message that Modi's a good friend, I (Trump) support him. But more importantly, India is a good friend and we (the U.S.) are with you as you look through the different challenges within the continent of Asia itself," Mukesh Aghi said.