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

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens during the closing session of the Franco-Indian Economic Forum at the Quai d'Orsay on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Abdul Saboor, Pool Photo via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. President Donald 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. “So frankly, it no longer matters to us that much what they charge”

He added, “Really, we want a certain level playing field.”

As he has in the past, Modi lavished praised on Trump, saying that he’s determined to “Make India Great Again,” or “MIGA.” That’s a play on the president’s “MAGA” or “Make America Great Again” catch phrase and movement.

Trump also said he’d back extraditing one of the plotters of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, appeared to be referencing 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, latter adding that “we’re giving him back to India immediately.”

Trump said more extraditions could be coming.

Trump also said the U.S. would soon increase military sales in 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.

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, the U.S. exports to India were worth nearly $70 billion and imports $120 billion.

Before the news conference, Trump and Modi greeted each with a hug in the lobby of the West Wing, then met in the Oval Office. The president called Modi a “great friend” despite just signing 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 is looking to avoid 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.

“The world had this thinking that India somehow is a neutral country in this whole process,” Modi said, praising Trump for speaking with Russia and Ukraine’s leaders on Wednesday. “But this is not true. India has a side, and that side is of peace.”

Trump, a Republican, previously imposed tariffs on China and says more are coming against the European Union, while threatening similar against Canada and Mexico and expanding 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 prior to signing the new round of reciprocal tariffs, however, Trump objected to Indian tariffs. He repeatedly dubbed Modi’s country a “tariff king.” At the White House, Modi called India’s existing tariffs “unfair and very strong.”

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.

Trump has decried U.S. trade deficits around the world and said he’ll work to shrink them, including during his meetings at the White House last week with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

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 adviser Mike Waltz. He also met with billionaire SpaceX founder and top Trump administration official Elon Musk.

While signing the tariffs order in the Oval Office, 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.

“India is a very hard place to do business because of the tariffs. They have the highest tariffs, just about in the world, and it’s a hard place to do business,” Trump said. “No, I would imagine he met possibly because, you know, he’s running a company.”

Modi and Trump were also likely to use their upcoming discussions to talk about immigration. There, the prime minister can point to India’s having 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 and the U.S.-Mexico border.

For the Trump administration, meanwhile, India is seen as integral to the U.S. strategy of containing China in the Indo-Pacific. Modi’s country is hosting a summit of a group of countries known as the Quad -- made up of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia -- later this year.