Trump, not yet one month into his presidency, has wielded the threat of tariffs against friend and foe alike to try to extract new trade deals, investment or law enforcement help.
Ahead of his White House meeting on Thursday, Modi has readied promises including increased liquefied natural gas, combat vehicle and jet engine purchases, according to Indian government officials who declined to be named.
Those are areas Trump's team believes India needs to make improvements, according to another person familiar with their thinking.
For his part, Modi wants help with the case of billionaire Gautam Adani, an ally of his who was indicted by the Justice Department in November over an alleged bribery scheme. Adani denies wrongdoing.
This time, the tariff issue will be front and center, said Richard Rossow, head of the India program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
The U.S. has a $45.6 billion trade deficit with India. Overall, the U.S. trade-weighted average tariff rate has been about 2.2%, according to World Trade Organization data, compared with India's 12%.
WHAT TRUMP WANTS
Modi is expected to meet one-on-one with Elon Musk during his trip to Washington, two people familiar with the plans told Reuters. The billionaire is a key Trump ally and his Starlink company's bid to enter the South Asian market could come up for discussion.
“Even though much of the talk will be on the bilateral relationship, on trade, on immigration, defense purchases, the China thread will weave through the meeting,“ said Lisa Curtis, an India-focused former White House official during the first Trump administration now with the Center for a New American Security think tank.
That approach has also meant that India has continued its ties with Moscow as it carries out its war with Ukraine. India has remained a major consumer of Russian energy, for instance, while the West has worked to cut its own consumption since the war started.
The U.S.-India meeting will offer clues as to what, if any, pressure Trump wants major outside powers to apply to advance those talks. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom in Washington, Manoj Kumar, Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah in New Delhi, and Shivam Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Durfee and Alistair Bell)
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