US President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally approached him regarding India’s long-pending defence purchases and trade issues, including delays in Apache helicopter deliveries.
Speaking at a House GOP retreat, Trump recalled Modi requesting a meeting, “‘Sir, may I see you please?’ Yes!” He added that he shared a strong personal rapport with the Indian leader, saying, “I have a very good relationship with him.”
Trump noted that Modi was reportedly unhappy with the United States over tariffs. “He's not that happy with me because… they're paying a lot of tariffs now. Because they're not doing the oil,” he said, referring to India’s reduced purchases of Russian oil. Trump added that India had cut such imports “very substantially.”
On defence procurement, Trump said India had been waiting years for 68 Apache helicopters and indicated that deliveries were now progressing, without providing further details.
Also read: PM Modi ‘not that happy with me’ over tariffs: Trump
He also highlighted the economic impact of tariffs on US revenues, claiming, “We’re getting rich because of tariffs… we’re gonna have over 650 billion dollars poured into our country or coming in shortly.”
Earlier this week following the attack on Venezuela, Trump had signalled the possibility of higher tariffs on India over Russian oil imports, stating, “We could raise tariffs on India if they don’t help on the Russian oil issue.” At the same time, he described Modi as “a very good man… a good guy… it was important to make me happy.”
The tariffs include a 50 per cent levy on Indian goods, with a 25 per cent surcharge linked specifically to India’s continued oil trade with Russia, forming part of Washington’s broader strategy to discourage energy transactions with Moscow.
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