Despite presenting a united front at a White House news conference, President Trump's threats of new tariffs overshadowed the friendly meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi. Modi's flattery of Trump, including a playful adaptation of his campaign slogan, concealed significant strains in US-India relations, especially regarding trade and immigration issues. Trump highlighted a massive trade deficit with India, emphasizing the need for reciprocal tariffs and signaling possible economic consequences for India and other nations. The interaction unfolded amid Trump seeking to reshape trade agreements globally, with India as a focal point.
Mr. Modi heaped praise on Mr. Trump, using his motto Make America Great Again in English, despite mostly speaking through a translator, and applying the motto to India. Make India Great Again, Mr. Modi crowed.
Mr. Trump hinted at the biggest thorn when he said at the news conference that the United States had a nearly $100 billion trade deficit with India, though he inflated the number.
All the flattery concealed a number of tensions between the two nations, including on two of Mr. Trump's signature issues, trade and immigration.
Mr. Trump directed his advisers to devise new tariff levels for countries around the world that take into account a range of trade barriers and other economic approaches.
Collection
[
|
...
]