A few hours after President Trump paved the way for the upheaval of trade relations in the United States with India with large “reciprocal” prices, he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented a united front at a conference Press Thursday at the White House.
Mr. Modi has become the last head of state to seek to appease an increasing flexion of Trump by trying to respond to his requests – even though Mr. Trump’s promised prices were hung on the meeting of the White House. Mr. Modi praised Mr. Trump, using his motto “Make America Great Again” in English, despite most of the time through a translator and applying the currency to India. “Make India again large,” sang Mr. Modi.
Warm greetings have also extended to Elon Musk, the constant companion Trump who crosses the federal government as head of an initiative to reshape and reduce the federal government: the two had a meeting and a photo shoot. Mr. Musk, the richest man in the world, has a number of companies, including Starlink, a broadband internet service, which sought to make an entry into India.
The whole flattery has hidden a number of tensions between the two nations, including two of Mr. Trump’s signature problems, trade and immigration. Mr. Trump alluded to the greatest thorn when he declared at the press conference that the United States had a trade deficit of almost $ 100 billion with India, although he inflated the Number – In 2024, the figure was nearly $ 50 billion.
A few hours earlier, Mr. Trump had ordered his advisers to design new rate levels for countries around the world who take into account a range of trade barriers and other economic approaches adopted by American business partners. India is among nations that could face particularly important consequences of prices.
At the press conference, Trump said he had played with this idea during his first mandate and noted that he could not lower the prices against the United States. Now, “we are just going to say,” Whatever you charge, we are billing, “said Trump.
“I think it’s just for the people of the United States,” said Trump. “And I think it’s just just for India.”
Despite the imminent economic punishment, Mr. Modi opened his remarks by saying that he focused on the doubling of bilateral trade at $ 500 billion by 2030 and “soon concluded a mutually beneficial trade agreement” with the states- United.
Mr. Modi also said that India and the United States would create a framework for defense cooperation for the next decade and have added that the two countries would also collaborate to develop semiconductors, quantum technology and intelligence artificial.
Even on a question that smoked some of his voters in India, Mr. Modi sought to appease Mr. Trump. At one point, Mr. Modi was questioned on an American military plane filled with migrants from India that the United States sent in the Indian state of Punjab last week.
A video published by a senior American border has shown migrants in obstacles and caused indignation in India.
Mr. Modi did not recognize this. “We are of the opinion that anyone illegally in another country, they absolutely do not have the right to be in this country,” he said.
Earlier in the afternoon, Trump met Mr. Modi in the Oval Office, joined by some of the secretaries of the president’s office. The two leaders were sitting on chairs, answering questions from journalists.
Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump had a generally friendly relationship. Modi welcomed Trump with a huge gathering during a presidential visit to India during Mr. Trump’s first term.
Before Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi met, the Indian Prime Minister sat with Mr. Musk.
Mr. Modi shared photos on the social media site of Mr. Musk, X, who underlined the power of Mr. Musk within the Trump administration: the billionaire was seated in front of an American flag next to the Prime Minister And the Indian flag, the type of installation usually struck by a head of state and that Mr. Trump himself supposed in recent weeks. Mr. Musk was accompanied by Shivon Zilis, who is a longtime advisor and the mother of some of his children, as well as three of his children, who seemed to exchange gifts with Mr. Modi.
During the press conference, Mr. Modi said he had known Mr. Musk for some time.
It was Mr. Trump’s fourth visit to a foreign leader in rapid succession in recent weeks, when he approaches foreign policy with an expansionist state of mind and a solid desire to push other countries to reimburse the United States for its military spending. He had already met the leaders of Israel, Japan and Jordan.
Theodore Schleifer Contributed reports.
