Trump offers F-35 jets, trade deal to India in talks with Modi

US President Donald Trump has offered to sell state-of-the-art fighter jets to India as he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to ramp up trade, rekindling a bond that defies the new US administration's punitive approach to much of the world.

Modi, only the fourth world leader to visit the White House since Trump's return, described the fellow nationalist on Thursday as a "friend" and told him he was adopting a take on his "Make America Great Again" slogan.

Trump said that he found a "special bond" with Modi and India and, in an uncharacteristic if ironic show of humility, complimented Modi as being a "much tougher negotiator" than he is.

Successive US administrations have seen India as a key partner with like-minded interests in the face of a rising China, and Trump announced that the new administration was ready to sell one of the top US military prizes — F-35s.

"Starting this year, we'll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars," Trump told a joint news conference with Modi.

"We're also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters," Trump said.

Trump, who hours before meeting Modi complained about Indian tariffs, agreed with Modi that the two countries would work together on a trade deal.

"In order to ensure India's energy security, we will focus on trade in oil and gas," Modi said, expecting a "mutually beneficial trade agreement" would come "very soon."

"We have ... set ourselves the target of more than doubling our bilateral trade to attain $500 billion by 2030. Our teams will work on concluding very soon, a mutually beneficial trade agreement," Modi added.

Joining Trump's meeting with Modi was SpaceX and Tesla tycoon Elon Musk, who has launched an aggressive effort as Trump's right-hand man to overhaul the US bureaucracy.

Musk also held a one-on-one meeting with Modi earlier on Thursday, in an encounter that drew questions over whether the world's richest man was meeting the Indian premier in an official or a business capacity.

The Indian premier posted pictures of himself shaking hands with the beaming Musk, with several children on Musk's side of the room, and Indian officials on the other.

Modi said later that he has known Musk since before he became prime minister.

Dangling tariffs

Trump doubled down on tariffs during the meeting with Modi.

"Whatever India charges, we charge them," Trump said at a joint news conference. "So frankly, it no longer matters to us that much what they charge."

He added, "Really, we want a certain level playing field."

Trump earlier put the leader of the world's most populous nation on notice over possible tariffs.

Trump said India is "right at the top of the pack" when it comes to tariffs. He said "India charges tremendously high tariffs", recalling how "Harley Davidson couldn't sell their motorbikes in India because of the fact that in India — the tariff was so high."

"Harley was forced to build... But I think they built a factory in India in order to avoid paying the tariffs. And that's what people can do with us too."

The meeting came hours after the US president announced reciprocal tariffs on all countries, including India — but New Delhi is hoping to avoid further levies that Trump says are needed to counter the US trade deficit.

"India, traditionally, is the highest, just about the highest tariff country. They charge more tariffs than any other country. And I mean, we'll be talking about that," Trump earlier told reporters.

"India is a very hard place to do business because of the tariffs."

US officials said there had been "early body language" from India but there was a "lot more work to do."

Modi offered quick tariff concessions ahead of his visit, with New Delhi slashing duties on high-end motorcycles — a boost to Harley-Davidson, the iconic US manufacturer whose struggles in India have irked Trump.

India has already accepted a US military flight carrying 100 shackled migrants last week as part of Trump's immigration overhaul, and New Delhi has vowed its own "strong crackdown" on irregular migration.

The Indian prime minister assiduously courted Trump during his first term.

On Thursday too, Modi lavished praise on Trump, saying that he's determined to "Make India Great Again," or "MIGA." That's a play on the US president's "MAGA" or "Make America Great Again" catch phrase and movement.

The two share much in common, with both campaigning on promises to promote majority communities over minorities and both doggedly quashing dissent.

In 2020, Modi invited Trump before a cheering crowd of more than 100,000 people to inaugurate the world's largest cricket stadium in his home state of Gujarat.

Trump could visit India later this year for a summit of the Quad — a four-way grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the United States.