Trump calls India Prime Minister as a “big friend” but warns of higher American rates for Indian goods -KGNS

Washington (AP) – President Donald Trump congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House with a bear hug on Thursday and called it a “big friend”, but he still warned that India would not be spared by higher tariffs that began imposing to US trading partners around the world.

Trump, who had previously summoned to India as the “Tariff King”, called the import fees imposed on Modi’s side “very unfair and strong”.

“Whatever India charges, we charge them,” Trump said at a joint press conference where he stood up to Modi. “So, to be honest, it doesn’t matter to us so much that they charge you.”

As he has recently hosted other foreign leaders, Trump has been talking about ensuring that the United States is wiping their trade deficit with India. He suggested that he could be done by increasing the export of energy to the United States in India, but also promised to restore “justice and reciprocity” in economic relations and said that he and Modi had started working on a large trade deal that It can be completed later this year.

The US and India have a $ 50 billion trade deficit in favor of India. The Indo-National Commerce and Services trade in about $ 190.1 billion in 2023. According to India’s Foreign Ministry, US exports to India cost nearly $ 70 billion and import $ 120 billion.

Meanwhile, Modi continued his personal tendency to praise Trump. The prime minister said he was determined to “make India great again” or “Flying” – a play by President Mag Maga or “Make America the Great Again” and Movement.

Trump also said he would support one of the conspirators of the Mumbai attacks in 2008 – it seems that he was referring to Tahawur Hussein Wound, who was sentenced in 2011 in the United States to think about an attack on a Danish newspaper.

“He will return to India to face justice,” Trump said. Later, the president added: “We return it to India immediately” and that more such extraditions can come.

Trump also said the US will soon increase India’s military sales by “many millions of dollars”, making the way to ultimately provide India with F-35 fighter jets that the country has long been looking for.

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

Modi strives to avoid additional US tariffs and improve relations with Washington and the West as a whole, who have recently been frosty after Modi refused to condemn Russia for his war against Ukraine.

“The world was thinking that India was somehow neutral in the whole process,” Modi said, praising Trump for having telephone calls with Russia and Ukraine of leaders on Wednesday. “But this is not true. India has a country and this country is from peace. “

Previously, Trump imposed tariffs for China and said they were coming more against the European Union – while threatening similar to Canada and Mexico. It also expanded the steel and aluminum rates, which it originally imposed in its first term.

The White House insists that when signing the round on Thursday, what Trump called “reciprocal” tariffs, he evens out the conditions of play between US manufacturers and foreign competitors. These new taxes are likely to be paid by US consumers and businesses directly or in the form of higher prices.

Even before Modi arrived, New Delhi was ready to buy more US oil and reduce his tariffs for American goods. This included levies of some Harley-Davidson motorcycles, which pass from 50% to 40%. Also, in 2023, India was dropped for on the ignition of American almonds, apples, chickpeas, lentils and nuts.

The tariffs aside, Trump uses the opening weeks of his second term to say that he will print US commercial deficits around the world, including during his White House meetings last week with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Modi is the fourth foreign leader to visit Trump after taking office last month after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ishiba from Japan and King of Jordan Abdullah II.

Before meeting Trump, Modi sat down with national security adviser Mike Walz. He also met with the founder of billionaire SpaceX and an employee of Trump Administration Elon Musk.

Trump was asked if Musk was talking to Modi as a state worker or technological tycoon against the background of fears that the meeting was related to the billionaire’s business deals.

“India is a very difficult place to do business because of tariffs. They have the highest tariffs, almost in the world and this is a difficult place for business, “Trump said. “No, I would imagine that he had met because, you know, he manages a company.”

Modi and Trump also said they had discussed immigration.

Recently, India has accepted the return of 104 migrants returned to the US military aircraft-first such flight to the country as part of the Trump administration’s repression for immigration and the US and Mexico border.

More than 725,000 immigrants from India are in the United States without permission, the third bigger part of each country after Mexico and El Salvador, according to the Pew Research Center.

In recent years, there has also been a jump in the number of Indians trying to enter the border between the United States Canada. The US border patrol has arrested over 14,000 Indians during the year ending September 30 – 60% of all arrests there and more than 10 times more than two years ago.

Trump has promised the “mass deportation” of all who are in the United States illegally. Modi said on Thursday that “Every inspected Indian who is in the US is illegally, we are fully ready to return them to India.”

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