Trump May Announce Reciprocal Tariffs Ahead of PM Modi's Visit, Says White House

Washington: US President Donald Trump may announce reciprocal tariff plan ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's visit, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed on Thursday. PM Modi, who will be on a two-day visit to the United States, will hold a bilateral meeting with President Trump seeking to shore up bilateral cooperation. PM Modi left for Washington after concluding France visit during which he attended AI Action Summit in Paris, held a bilateral with President Emmanuel Macron, addressed a CEO conference and visited Marseille city along with Macron where both the leaders inaugurated Indian consulate.

PM Modi's US visit has come even less than a month after Trump's inauguration and is among the very few first world leaders who will hold a bilateral with him in both restricted and delegation-level formats so soon in his second tenure of Presidency.

A range of bilateral issues are expected to be on the table, with foreign policy-watchers indicating that some of the sensitive issues may also figure in the discussions including Trump's tariff plans.

No official clarity on what issues will come up during Modi-Trump talks 

PM Modi and Donald Trump may discuss a range of issues including trade, energy, immigration, Ukraine, Middle East among others, however, there is no official word yet on the agenda to be taken up during Modi's visit.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she believes that the tariffs would come before visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM Modi's US visit comes amid Trump's tariff threats  

The Prime Minister's visit comes nearly three weeks after the January 20 inauguration of Trump and amid tariff threats issued by the US leader in the recent past.

The United States will impose tariffs on the countries that “harm” America, President Trump had told House Republicans at a Florida retreat late January.

In his address, he had described China as a “tremendous tariff-maker” and then went on to also name India and Brazil in that category.

PM Modi visits Washington days after US sends back illegal Indian immigrants 

The visit also comes days after a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Punjab 's Amritsar, the first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants.

The visit will provide a "valuable opportunity" to engage the new administration in all areas of mutual interest, senior officials said.

Modi visiting US on Trump's invitation  

The prime minister's visit to the US at the invitation of President Trump shows the “importance of India-US partnership and is also reflective of the bipartisan support that this partnership enjoys in the US,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a briefing on February 7 in New Delhi.

“After President Trump's inauguration, the prime minister called to wish him, and it was on that occasion they agreed to meet very soon, and that is the promise and the commitment that is now unfolding,” he said “There is an obvious convergence of interests between the two countries in a number of areas -- trade, investment, technology, defence cooperation, counterterrorism, Indo-Pacific security, and of course, people-to-people relations,” the FS said in the briefing.

Modi will also interact with business leaders and members of the Indian community in the US.

The visit will also strengthen people-to-people relations between the two countries, he said, adding, “The 5.4 million-strong Indian community in the US and the more than 3,50,000 students from India who are pursuing studies in universities strengthen this bond immeasurably.” “We expect a joint statement to be adopted at the end of the visit,” the foreign secretary said.

With inputs from PTI