Narendra Modi US visit highlights: Modi, Trump sign deal to make US top oil, gas supplier of India

The Trump administration wants to bring down the US trade deficit with India and hopes to have a fair bilateral trade deal with New Delhi in place in 2025, Trump administration officials said ahead of a summit between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

PM Modi will hold a one-on-one meeting with tech billionaire Elon Musk today, who runs Trump's efficiency department which aims to save federal spending on running the government by streamlining bureaucracy.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: US President Donald Trump said that he would announce "reciprocal tariffs" on trading partners Thursday, opening new fronts in a trade war economists warn could fuel inflation at home. His remarks came just hours ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: The US State Department released a statement stating that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend a meeting between PM Modi and President Trump at 2:30 IST on 14 February.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: According to the US Trade Representative (USTR), the trade relationship between India and the United States continued to strengthen, with bilateral trade in goods and services surpassing $200 billion, despite global trade challenges.

The United States exported goods worth $87.4 billion to India in 2024, a 3.4% increase from 2023.

Goods imports from India to the U.S. totalled $87.4 billion in 2024, a 4.4% rise from the previous year.

The US goods trade deficit with India was $45.6 billion in 2024, a 5.3% increase over 2023.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: Former diplomat Surendra Kumar told ANI, “Another issue which we can really see is that many times during President Biden, there were some Democrats and even some State Department people raising a lot of issues about the issue of minorities in India, issue of freedom of expression, freedom of the press. Now, we feel that President Trump is much less gung-ho on these matters. We will not find that kind of criticism because they know that we are doing our best to what the Prime Minister says. So I hope everything should be all right.”

Narendra Modi US visit Live: When asked about Trump's plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on US trade partners, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday, “It’s very simple logic as to why the President wants to impose reciprocal tariffs,” Leavitt said. “It’s the golden rule, which we all learned when we were growing up in school: treat others the way you want to be treated.”

Narendra Modi US visit Live: The White House had indicated earlier that reciprocal tariffs would happen before PM Modi's visit to the White House.

The US had already announced tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports beginning on March 12, imposed 10% tariffs on goods from China, and imposed a 30-day hold on tariffs on goods from neighbouring Canada and Mexico.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: US President Donald Trump wrote a cryptic post on his Truth Social platform ahead of a bilateral meeting with PM Modi.

“THREE GREAT WEEKS, PERHAPS THE BEST EVER, BUT TODAY IS THE BIG ONE: RECIPROCAL TARIFFS!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!,” Trump wrote.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: Former diplomat Surendra Kumar said, “I am quite confident that there are no major issues where they could be eaten. There is the issue of tariffs and trade. Yes, trade is in balance in favour of India. But we are already committed to reducing it by taking more American products.”

Narendra Modi US visit Live: PM Modi will hold talks with NSA Michael Waltz, Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk as part of his bilateral visit to the United States.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: The "Mood of the Nation" survey by India Today magazine said that more than 40% of Indians they polled think that Donald Trump's second term will be favourable to New Delhi.

Trump also enjoys a positive image among most supporters of PM Modi and the BJP, the survey showed, and only 16% felt he would be bad or disastrous for India.

The balance of those surveyed saw Trump as having no impact on the country either way.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: PM Modi has readied promises including increased liquefied natural gas, combat vehicle and jet engine purchases, Indian government officials who declined to be named told Reuters.

Indian officials are also looking at trade negotiations, possible deals on US agriculture exports to India and investment in nuclear energy, along with tariff cuts in at least a dozen sectors, including electronics, medical and surgical equipment, and chemicals.

Those are areas Trump's team believes India needs to make improvements, according to another person familiar with their thinking.

It's a "gift" for Trump, said one of the sources, who declined to be named as they previewed a private meeting.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned if PM Modi would reiterate India's long-standing position on Palestine and express strong opposition to the "bizarre proposal" floated by the US president Donald Trump for Gaza.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: Ahead of PM Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump, the Congress on Thursday asked if he would "summon up the courage" to convey India's collective outrage at the "inhuman manner" in which Indian citizens were deported from that country.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also asked if Modi would convey to the US president that India would send its own aircraft -- like Venezuela and Colombia did -- to bring back Indian deportees in the future.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: With Trump's stringent tariff policy, especially towards Asian countries, PM Modi's key priority is likely to be to pre-empt any punitive trade action by Washington against India.

Experts and overseers of India-US ties said there is a possibility of both sides exploring the option of looking at a trade pact to avoid high tariffs and expand the overall trade basket.

In their meeting, the two leaders are likely to broadly focus on ramping up India-US cooperation in sectors like trade, investment, energy, defence, technology and immigration.

Narendra Modi US visit Live: During his two-day US visit, PM Modi is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump, making him the fourth foreign leader to visit the President following his inauguration on January 20. Here is the full schedule of Prime Minister's Day 1 in Washington-

1600 Hrs (EST) - Arrival at White House

1605 - 1650 Hrs (EST)- Bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump

1710 - 1740 Hrs (EST)- Press statements where both the leaders will take questions

1740 - 1840 Hrs (EST) - Dinner hosted by President Trump

Note: These timings are subject to change based on real-time developments

Click here to read more

Narendra Modi US visit Live: Vivek Lall, Chief Executive of General Atomics Global Corporation, while talking about expectations from the upcoming PM Modi-President Trump meeting in Washington, said, "I think the defence trade of both the countries has increased very significantly over the years and I do think that... that will continue to be the case as both the largest and oldest democracies work together. I think there is a lot of synergies in terms of interoperability, and I think in the future interchangeability as well. So, I do think that platforms that India has procured has served the Indian security system really well and it will continue to do so." (PTI)

PM Narendra Modi US visit Live: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that it is a "goo sign" that PM Modi is among the first few leaders to be invited to meet President Trump during the latter's second term. While talking to the media, he said, "It is a fairly significant matter that our Prime Minister is among the first world leaders to receive an appointment from President Trump. It is a good sign. We all are waiting for a read-out on what they will discuss..."

PM Narendra Modi US visit Live: Donald Trump’s decision to announce reciprocal tariffs on Thursday morning threatens to cast a shadow on PM Modi's US visit, for India is among the countries most likely to be affected by Trump’s announcement.

At the regular White House press conference on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Leavitt said there was very “simple logic” as to why the President wanted to impose reciprocal tariffs. “It's the golden rule, which we all learned when we were growing up in school: treat others the way you want to be treated. And far too many nations around this world have been ripping off the United States of America for far too long. And that’s why the President believes this will be a great policy that will benefit American workers and improve our national security.” Read more.

PM Narendra Modi US visit Live:On PM Modi's two-day visit to the United States and a bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump, the agenda include issues related to trade, investment, defence, energy, immigration and the wider strategic convergence between the two countries on the Indo-Pacific, a code for China’s aggression in the region, Quad and the situation in West Asia, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.

After their bilateral meet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump will hold a press conference, said White House according to a Reuters report.

Talking about PM Modi's visit to the US, BJP leader Prakash Reddy said that he hoped PM Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump helps boost India-US ties. "...I hope the meeting between PM Modi and US President Donald Trump will boost the bilateral relationship of US and India. The meeting between chiefs of the two countries will give solutions to the issues faced by the people in different parts of the globe...I hope this meeting will give good results," he told ANI.

PM Narendra Modi US visit Live: Talking about PM Modi's visit to the US, BJP leader and MP Tejasvi Surya told ANI, "India-US relationship is an important relationship for both the countries. The bilateral relationship is only growing stronger with the new administration in place. India plays an important role in the scientific and entrepreneurial sectors in the US. The US is a very important partner in many areas of national importance for India..."

PM Narendra Modi US visit Live: During his two-day visit to Washington DC, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be staying at the prestigious ‘Blair House’, also known as "the world’s most exclusive hotel."

Blair House, the President's guest house, is called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is mainly used as a state guest house to host visiting dignitaries and other guests of the US President.

Located directly across from the White House at 1651 Pennsylvania Avenue, Blair House was built in 1824 and became politically central in Washington, DC, the moment the Blair family took up residence in 1837, according to the information in its website. Click here to read more.