US President Donald Trump has struck a deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase imports of US oil and gas in order to reduce the two nations’ trade deficits.
“They are going to buy a lot of our oil and gas. They need it. “And we have it,” Trump said during a joint news briefing in Washington.
Modi stated that “in order to ensure India’s energy security, we will focus on trade in oil and gas,” while also promising to increase investment in nuclear energy.
His two-day visit comes as Trump orders that US trading partners face reciprocal tariffs, or tit-for-tat import fees that match equivalent duties already levied by those countries on American exports.
The US president and the Indian Prime Minister have developed a personal rapport over the years, despite friction over trade.
“We’ve had a wonderful relationship,” Trump remarked as he greeted his visitor to the US capital on Thursday.
He also stated that the US would enhance military gear sales to India by millions of dollars, ultimately equipping Delhi with F-35 fighter jets.
Immigration was prominent on the agenda, with Trump reportedly asking India to return thousands of unauthorized immigrants.
Earlier, Modi claimed to have talked space, technology, and creativity with Trump backer Elon Musk.
Modi elaborated, “I firmly believe with Trump we will work with twice the speed we did in his first term.”
Shortly before their bilateral, Trump directed his staff to calculate broad new tariffs on US trading partners around the world, indicating that they may go into force as early as April 1.
Trump told reporters that “our allies are worse than our enemies” when it comes to import taxes.
“We had a very unfair system to us,” the Republican president said before meeting Modi. “Everybody took advantage of the United States.”
The White House also released a press release, firing a trade shot across the bows of India and other nations.
The document said that the average US tariff on agricultural goods was 5% for nations awarded most favored country (MFN) status.
“But India’s average applied MFN tariff is 39%,” the White House fact sheet said.
“India also charges a 100% tariff on US motorcycles, while we only charge a 2.4% tariff on Indian motorcycles.”
On Thursday, Trump acknowledged the risks of his tariff program, as analysts cautioned that such import tariffs would raise consumer costs.
“Prices could go up somewhat, short term, but prices will also go down,” he said in the Oval Office.
However, he claimed that the proposal would stimulate American industry and cause the country to be “flooded with jobs.”
Trump has already imposed an additional 10% duty on Chinese imports, blaming their production of fentanyl, a lethal narcotic that has fueled a US overdose epidemic.
He has also readied duties on Canada and Mexico, America’s two largest trading partners, which may go into force in March following a 30-day suspension.
On Monday, he lifted exemptions from his 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs.
