Trump calls India’s Modi a ‘great friend’ but warns of higher U.S. tariffs on Indian goods

WASHINGTON — President Trump greeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House with a bear hug on Thursday and called him “a great friend of mine,” but nonetheless warned that India won’t be spared from higher tariffs he’s begun imposing on U.S. trade partners around the world.

Trump, who had previously derided India as the “tariff king,” called the import levies imposed by Modi’s country “very unfair and strong.”

“Whatever India charges, we charge them,” Trump said at a joint news conference where he stood next to Modi. “So, frankly, it no longer matters to us that much what they charge.”

As he has while recently hosting other foreign leaders, Trump talked about ensuring that the U.S. erases its trade deficits. He suggested that could be done by increasing U.S. energy exports to India but also promised to restore “fairness and reciprocity” to the economic relationship and said he and Modi had begun working on a major trade deal that could be completed later this year.

The U.S. and India have a trade deficit of $50 billion in India’s favor. The Indo-U.S. goods and services trade totaled around $190.1 billion in 2023. According to India’s External Affairs Ministry, U.S. exports to India were worth nearly $70 billion and imports $120 billion.

Modi, a nationalist, continued his personal trend of heaping praise on Trump. The prime minister said that he’s determined to “Make India Great Again,” or “MIGA” — a play on the president’s “MAGA” or “Make America Great Again” catchphrase and movement.

Trump also said he’d back extraditing one of the plotters of the 2008 Mumbai attacks — appearing to reference Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was convicted in 2011 in the U.S. for plotting an attack on a Danish newspaper.

“He’s going to be going back to India to face justice,” Trump said, adding that more such extraditions could be coming.

Trump also said the U.S. would soon increase military sales to India by “many millions of dollars,” paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighter planes — something the country has long sought.

Before Modi’s White House arrival, Trump signed an order to increase tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports, which affects American trading partners around the world — including India.

Modi had been looking to avoid additional U.S. tariffs and to improve relations with Washington and the West overall, which have been frosty lately after Modi refused to condemn Russia for its war on Ukraine.

Trump previously imposed tariffs on China and says more are coming against the European Union, while threatening similar against Canada and Mexico. He also expanded tariffs on steel and aluminum he initially imposed during his first term.

The White House insists that in signing Thursday’s round of what Trump called “reciprocal” tariffs, he is leveling the playing field between U.S. manufacturers and foreign competitors — though these new taxes would likely be paid by American consumers and businesses either directly or in the form of higher prices.

Even before Modi arrived, New Delhi showed willingness to buy more American oil and lower its own tariffs on U.S. goods, including on some Harley-Davidson motorcycles, from 50% to 40% — moves it took prior to Modi’s coming to Washington.

Also, India in 2023 dropped retaliatory tariffs on U.S. almonds, apples, chickpeas, lentils and walnuts.

Modi is the fourth foreign leader to visit Trump since his inauguration last month, following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ishiba of Japan and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

Prior to meeting with Trump, Modi sat down with national security advisor Mike Waltz and met with billionaire SpaceX founder and top Trump advisor Elon Musk.

Trump was asked if Musk spoke with Modi as a government worker or a tech magnate, amid concerns the meeting was related to the billionaire’s business dealings.

“No, I would imagine he met possibly because, you know, he’s running a company,” Trump said.

In a photo posted to Modi’s account on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, the prime minister, joined by his official delegation, was seen engaging in conversation with Musk, who brought some of his children and an executive, Shivon Zilis, who is also the mother of three of his children.

Modi and Trump also said their discussions included immigration. India recently accepted the return of 104 migrants brought back on a U.S. military plane — the first such flight to the country as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

More than 725,000 immigrants from India are in the U.S. without authorization, the third most of any country after Mexico and El Salvador, according to the Pew Research Center.

Recent years have also seen a jump in the number of Indians attempting to enter through the U.S.-Canada border. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested more than 14,000 Indians in the year ending Sept. 30 — 60% of all arrests there and more than 10 times the number from two years ago.

Trump has promised a “mass deportation” of all who are in the U.S. illegally. Modi said Thursday, “Any verified Indian who is in the U.S. illegally, we are fully prepared to take them back to India.”

Weissert writes for the Associated Press.