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US President Donald Trump has pushed India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to purchase extra American-made weapons, as he referred to as for the international locations to rebalance their commerce relationship in a name late on Monday.
Trump emphasised that India must be growing its “procurement of American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship”, in keeping with a White Home assertion issued after the decision between the leaders, which the US referred to as “productive”.
Trump and Modi cultivated a detailed relationship in the course of the US president’s first time period, and New Delhi has been a strategic accomplice in Washington’s efforts to counter an more and more assertive Beijing.
However Trump additionally referred to as India a “very big abuser” on commerce throughout his re-election marketing campaign final 12 months, and analysts pointed to areas of friction between the international locations, resembling their commerce deficit, Indian imports of Russian oil and the circulate of Indian immigrants to the US.
“The bilateral relationship is very likely to remain a strong one under Trump 2.0, yet transactional, in which President Trump will also require some concessions from India,” mentioned Rani Mullen, a senior visiting fellow on the Centre for Coverage Analysis in New Delhi.
The US is India’s second-largest buying and selling accomplice, narrowly trailing China, and New Delhi recorded a $35bn commerce surplus with Washington between January and November 2024, in keeping with the newest information from India’s commerce ministry. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Brics international locations, a grouping of main rising economies that features India.
In a social media put up late on Monday, Modi referred to as Trump a “dear friend” and mentioned they had been “committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership” in a number of areas, together with safety.
Trump later advised reporters that Modi would go to the White Home “probably in February”, which might make the Indian chief among the many first overseas dignitaries to go to because the US president’s inauguration.
Trump’s requests got here as India, lengthy the world’s largest arms importer, has been looking for to diversify its weapons suppliers past Russia. It has leaned on the US, together with different international locations resembling France, to shut a niche in navy know-how and preparedness with regional rival China.
Modi has additionally pushed India’s navy to assist home arms producers, a part of his ambition for the defence and aviation industries to assist make the nation a world manufacturing energy. Modi has set a goal of $35bn for home defence manufacturing by the tip of the last decade, up from practically $20bn final 12 months.
New Delhi must improve its navy capabilities whether it is to match these of nuclear-armed neighbour China, in keeping with analysts, together with in fighter jets, submarines, tanks, helicopters and even assault rifles. Whereas some home arms makers have such capabilities, India lacks crucial knowhow for applied sciences resembling navy jet engines.
Trump and Modi additionally mentioned increasing safety co-operation within the Indo-Pacific area and reiterated their dedication to the Quad — a strategic grouping that additionally contains Japan and Australia — in keeping with the White Home. India is about to host the group’s leaders this 12 months.
The decision coincided with a go to by India’s overseas secretary Vikram Misri to Beijing on Tuesday, throughout which the international locations agreed in precept to renew direct passenger flights for the primary time in 5 years. The routes had been initially suspended in the course of the Covid pandemic, and remained so after lethal border clashes in 2020 soured relations.
Trump mentioned he and Modi additionally mentioned immigration, a precedence for the brand new US administration, including that the Indian prime minister would “do what’s right” by way of accepting the return of unlawful Indian nationals from the US.
Indians made up the third-largest group of unauthorised immigrants within the US in 2022 after Mexico and El Salvador, in keeping with the Pew Analysis Heart.
