‘MEGA Partnership for Prosperity’: Trump Touts Strong Relationship With India

At a Thursday evening joint press conference, President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a framework for increased defense and economic cooperation—although that cooperation may include tariffs imposed by the U.S.

To “deepen every aspect of our partnership and our friendship,” Trump said, “the prime minister and I are announcing a framework to strengthen those ties even further economically.”

Modi applied Trump’s mission statement, Make America Great Again, to his own nation to say, “Make India Great Again.”

“MIGA + MAGA = MEGA partnership!” the Indian prime minister said. 

Such ties include the increased sale of U.S. weapons to India, as well as bringing India into the F-35 program.

“We’ll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars,” Trump said, suggesting the pair were committed to “maintaining peace and prosperity, tranquillity even, in the Indo-Pacific.”

Defense capabilities and intelligence-sharing seek to help the Trump and Modi governments confront terrorism.

“In addition, the United States and India will be working together like never before to confront the threat of radical Islamic terrorism—a threat all over the world, actually,” Trump said.

Nevertheless, Trump said the arrangement could include reciprocal tariffs. 

“India’s been to us just about the highest tariff nation in the world. Anywhere in the world, they’ve been very strong on tariffs. I don’t blame them necessarily, but it’s a different way of doing business,” Trump said of India’s tariffs on U.S. goods. “It’s very hard to sell into India because they have trade barriers, very strong tariffs.”

“I had discussions with India in the first term about the fact that their tariffs were very high, and I was unable to get a concession,” Trump said, later mentioning that Modi is a tough negotiator—even tougher than he is.

“So, we’re just going to do it the easy way. And we’re just going to say: ‘Whatever you charge, we charge,’” the president said of the reciprocal tariffs.

The U.S. trade deficit with India grew by 38% while Trump was out of office. In 2021, the U.S. trade deficit with India was $33.1 billion. In 2024, that figure had climbed to $45.7 billion.

The Indian prime minister emphasized the economic perks of his country’s alliance with the U.S., pledging to increase trade between the two countries.

Despite the potential tariffs, Modi expressed enthusiasm for the deepened U.S. partnership. 

“Today, we have also set ourselves the target of more than doubling our bilateral trade to attain $500 [billion] by 2030,” Modi said. “Our teams will work on concluding very soon a mutually beneficial trade agreement.”

“In order to ensure India’s energy security, we will focus on trade in oil and gas. Investment in energy infrastructure will also increase, he added.

Trump and Modi reached an agreement to restore the United States as a leading supplier of oil and gas to India, the president said. 

“India is also reforming its role to welcome our nuclear technology, which is at the highest level, into the Indian market,” Trump said. “This will bring safe, clean, and affordable electricity to millions of Indians and tens of billions of dollars to the U.S. civilian nuclear industry in India.” 

He announced a partnership between the U.S. and India “to ensure that artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies are developed by two of the most advanced nations, intellectually, and otherwise, technologically.” 

“Anywhere in the world, there’s nobody very much close to where we are,” Trump said. “We have an incredible relationship there.” 

Trump promised to make “tremendous amounts” of electricity available to India. 

“We’re going to let the people get the electricity, make their own electric generation plants,” he said. “And we’ve never done this in our country, but we’ll get it done very quickly. [Environmental Protection Agency Administrator] Lee Zeldin and his group are going to get the approvals in very rapid form, and we’re calling it a national emergency, and that’s exactly what it is.”

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