Washington, Feb. 13 (EFE) – During a meeting at the White House on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that India would increase its purchases of oil and gas from the United States to help reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries.
“We have more oil and gas than any other country in the world by far. They need it, and we have it,” Trump said, sitting next to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a press conference at the start of the meeting.
The U.S. is India’s largest trading partner, but there is a $50 billion trade deficit in favor of India, largely due to exports of engineering products, electronics, jewelry, and pharmaceuticals from India.
In his opening remarks, Modi congratulated Trump on his victory in the November election.
“I’m thrilled to see you back in the White House and I congratulate you on behalf of India’s 140 crore people,” Modi said.
Reflecting on his past experience working with Trump during the U.S. president’s first term, Modi expressed confidence in strengthening the India-U.S. strategic partnership.
“We will continue to strengthen our relationship with the same trust, bond, and enthusiasm,” he added.
Modi, in a political gesture, avoided discussing sensitive issues such as trade, defense, migration, or competition with China, instead focusing on his personal relationship with Trump. He recalled the “Namaste Trump” event in February 2020 during Trump’s visit to India, where a large rally took place in Ahmedabad with over 100,000 attendees.
This event followed the “Howdy Modi” rally in Houston, Texas, in September 2019, which was held in Modi’s honor. Trump, smiling and speaking warmly, repeatedly referred to Modi as “his friend.”
“We’re friends, and we’re going to stay that way,” Trump said, standing beside Modi in the Oval Office.
Elon Musk, one of Trump’s closest advisers, was also present at the Oval Office meeting. Musk had met with Modi before the session with the U.S. president.
Despite the friendly tone, just hours earlier, Trump had signed a memorandum imposing “reciprocal tariffs” on countries that tax U.S. goods. India was one of the countries targeted by the White House for charging a 100% tariff on U.S. motorcycles, while the U.S. imposes only a 2.4% tariff.
Following Trump’s election on February 1, India’s government proposed a budget lowering tariffs on items like motorcycles, cars, and mobile phone accessories. Before Modi’s visit to Washington, India had shown a willingness to reduce tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles from 50% to 40%.
In 2023, India removed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports of almonds, apples, lentils, and walnuts.
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