President Donald Trump will hold a press conference on tariffs Thursday ahead of his meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi will arrive at the White House at 4:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, and immediately attend a bilateral meeting with Trump at the White House. About an hour later, Trump will host a press conference with Modi.
Several hours before that press conference, Trump will hold a news conference at 1:00 p.m. at the White House. The president announced the news conference in a Thursday morning Truth Social post that read: “NEWS CONFERENCE ON RECIPROCAL TARIFFS TODAY, 1:00 P.M., THE OVAL OFFICE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Trump has called Modi the “tariff king” in the past, and has pushed India to accept deportations of illegal immigrants from the United States. Modi is said to be eager to lose that title, and has already been working with the Trump administration to take back migrants — India accepted 104 illegals from the United States flown back on an American military plane earlier this month, and a second flight will head to India on Saturday, according to India Today.
Senior Trump administration officials said on a press call Thursday morning that Trump is proud of his relationship with Modi and his record of strengthening ties between the United States and India. The meetings will include discussion on key areas of defense, trade, energy, infrastructure, and regional partnerships, a senior Trump administration official said, adding that Trump is “looking forward to continuing to build on the bonds of friendship between our two countries.”
“We will aim to build on defense sales to India to ensure they are prioritizing the use of American technology,” the official shared. “The president is also focused on unleashing American energy to the rest of the world and will prioritize India as a key importer of America’s natural resources to power their economy. The two leaders will discuss how we can improve our trade relationship that brings down our bilateral trade deficit and ensure an expanded fair trade relationship.”
Asked by The Daily Wire how China’s retaliatory response to Trump’s tariffs impacts India’s relationship with the United States, a senior Trump administration official responded: “I think this heightens the opportunity set for the Indians to be a part of strengthening supply chains, ensuring that critical supply chains and technologies cannot be weaponized against free societies. I think they take that opportunity seriously, and it could be an opportunity for the bilateral to continue to expand and evolve.”
Modi also met with Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday in France, where the two leaders discussed “topics of mutual interest, including how the United States can assist India in diversifying its energy sourcing through investments in clean, reliable U.S. nuclear technology.”
