President Obama’s state visit to India may not have cost $200 million a day, but it certainly is expensive for America’s commander in chief to travel abroad.

No matter what it cost, though, I’d hope most honest observers would admit this is very good news: On Day 1 of India visit, Obama showcases trade deals with US firms.

President Obama made a forceful case for free trade on the first day of his state visit to India, showcasing how trade with India can create US jobs.

He brought with him hundreds of US executives who finalized deals on the sidelines of the trip totaling nearly $10 billion in new US exports. The payoff for Mr. Obama’s argument: 50,000 new American jobs.

‘In our interconnected world, increased commerce between the United States and India can be and will be a win-win proposition for both nations,’ he said at a business summit in Mumbai. Noting that the US exports less to India than to the Netherlands – a country with fewer people than Mumbai – he said, “we can do better than that.”