Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now meeting with President Trump at the White House. The two just shared remarks while seated side-by-side in the Oval Office, along with other officials.

Trump says it is an honour to see Modi and said the two will be talking about trade.

"I’m delighted to see you and be back at the White House," Modi says to Trump.

"I firmly believe with Trump we will work with twice the speed we did in his first term." he added.

Trump and Modi are now together in the White House, where they are surrounded by aides and reporters.

"We've had a wonderful relationship," Trump says, adding that they kept the friendship up over the last four years.

He adds that he looks forward to the two countries doing more business together.

Trump says they will be discussing trade today.

Ritika Gupta
Business correspondent, reporting from New York

Image source, Getty Images

“Very simply, it's if they charge us, we charge them," according to US President Donald Trump.

In theory, the US would pose the same levies on imported goods from a given country that the other country imposes on their US imports.

These would apply to all countries that generally have higher tariffs on average than the US, which Trump says will “level the playing field”.

However, what is more complicated is that they will be customised for each country and include non-tariff barriers that limit US trade.

These could include unfair subsidies, regulations, VAT, exchange rates and other factors - which could make for some difficult calculations.

Pictures are now coming in of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House where he is meeting with President Donald Trump.

We're expecting a press conference later today. Stick with us.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Trump says the 25% tariff on both metals will come into effect on 12 March, with no exceptions.

The US is the world's largest importer of steel, with Canada, Brazil and Mexico its top three suppliers.

Canada also provided more than 50% of the aluminium imported into the US in 2024.

Shares of US steelmakers rose following the announcement. However, American companies which use steel and aluminium to make products have warned the tariffs could put their prices up.

The Canadian government said the tariffs were "totally unjustified" and vowed swift retaliation.

Image source, Reuters

Trump praised his nominee for secretary of commerce at the end of his meeting with reporters in the Oval Office, saying that Howard Lutnick is doing a "fantastic job".

Lutnick, the former chief executive of financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, passed a key procedural vote in the Senate on Thursday - setting up a full confirmation vote in the coming days.

After that, he will be officially sworn in to lead the commerce department, which is a key player in areas where business and national security interests collide, such as restricting technology exports to China or enacting tariffs to protect US steel.

Lutnick, who the Wall Street Journal calls a "hawkish protectionist", has emerged as one of Trump's key advisers on the topic of trade tariffs.

Read more about his background here

Ritika Gupta
Business correspondent, reporting from New York

US Stocks closed in the green on Thursday, brushing off President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats.

The S&P 500 gained 1%, while the tech heavy Nasdaq outperformed.

There is some ease for Wall Street that the reciprocal tariffs, customised for each country taxing US goods, will be delayed until at least 1 April. Previous reports suggested they would be enacted immediately.

While markets don’t like uncertainty, the long lead time raises speculation that Trump may use the tariffs as a negotiating tool, rather than follow through – similar to the strategy already used to obtain concessions from Mexico and Canada.

In the Oval Office news conference, Trump discussed his across-the-board tariffs on Canada - currently on temporary hold pending negotiations.

"I spoke to Governor Trudeau and we'll see what happens," Trump said, taking a swipe at Canada's prime minister and invoking his idea - firmly rejected by Ottawa - that America's northern neighbour should become the 51st US state.

If such measures against Canadian (and Mexican) imports go ahead, items they produce are expected to become more expensive.

In addition to steel, Canadian goods such as timber, grains and potatoes are likely to get more expensive.

Goods from Mexico that could be affected include fruit, vegetables, spirits and beer.

Over the last couple of hours we've been bringing you lines from Trump as he spoke to reporters about reciprocal tariffs from the Oval Office.

In the clip below you can see what he said about Musk's meeting with India's prime minister earlier today.

Trump was asked about TikTok, and said he was confident that a deal can be made to keep the Chinese social media company operating in the US.

The US Congress passed a law last year that bans TikTok in the US unless it is sold to an American company. Lawmakers cited concerns that Beijing could use the app's data to track US federal workers and contractors.

Trump said such a deal would need to be approved by the Chinese government.

"We have a lot of people that are interested in TikTok," he said in the Oval Office. "I'm gonna make it worthwhile for China to do it."

Trump is reportedly assisting in business talks to allow a US buyer to purchase TikTok's parent company ByteDance.

ByteDance has previously said it will not sell the app to the US.

Trump's announcement on tariffs raises the question: to what extent are these negotiation tactics by the would-be dealmaker-in-chief?

The president was asked this afternoon if he expects US trade partners to offer concessions to block tariffs. He denied the tariffs were bargaining tactics.

Last week, Trump ordered import duties of 25% on all Canadian and Mexican products, only to delay that plan for 30 days. He also brought in new US levies of 10% on all Chinese goods coming into the US, prompting retaliation from China.

For better or worse, Trump's strategy seems to be to keep US trading partners and rivals guessing on his next moves - channelling the kind of hardball technique laid out in his business memoir The Art of the Deal.

Tariffs are taxes charged on goods imported from other countries.

The companies that bring the foreign goods into the country pay the tax to the government.

Typically, tariffs are a percentage of a product's value. The 10% tariff on Chinese goods means a product worth $10 would have an additional $1 charge applied to it.

Firms may choose to pass on some or all of the cost of tariffs to customers.

Robert F Kennedy Jr, better known as RFK Jr, has just been sworn in as Trump's health secretary.

Flanked by his wife, Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines, RFK Jr took the oath of office in the Oval Office, administered by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Earlier on Thursday, Kennedy passed a confirmation vote on the Senate floor 52-48, with the only dissenting Republican being former majority leader Mitch McConnell.

RFK Jr faced a contentious confirmation process, with opponents on both sides of the aisle citing his vaccine sceptism and support for abortion rights.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Trump's commerce secretary has confirmed some more details about reciprocal tariffs, saying they could come into effect after 1 April.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Howard Lutnick said the studies of what import taxes need to be introduced on specific countries should be completed by then.

He adds that the White House will address each affected country one by one.

More from Trump's latest tariff announcement, which the president is being quizzed over in the White House.

Asked about the introduction of automatic tariffs on certain imports to the US, he tells reporters one is "coming soon".

Trump says this will bring pharmaceuticals and microchip production back to the country.

He goes on to say that car tariffs will also help the US car industry, claiming that after he announced this plan during the election campaign China stopped building car plants.

Trump says China's car production would have "destroyed" the auto industry in Michigan.

Pressed over whether there would be exemptions to the tariffs, Trump replies no.

Trump, speaking from the Oval Office, is asked about whether tariffs on foreign imports will cause prices to go up in the US.

"Not necessarily," he says, adding that the US will be "flooded with jobs".

"Prices could go up somewhat, short term, but prices will also go down," he says.

He predicts "short term, some disturbances, but long term it'll bring in a fortune" to the country.

We're finally getting some pictures on the president's news conference on reciprocal tariffs. Click watch live above to tune in.

Trump has taken to Truth Social, his social media platform, to defend his plan to place tariffs on countries that have their own duties on US imports.

"On Trade, I have decided, for purposes of Fairness, that I will charge a RECIPROCAL Tariff meaning, whatever Countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them - No more, no less!" he wrote.

He says that countries with a VAT system will also receive US tariffs, because the system is "far more punitive than a Tariff".

"It is fair to all, no other Country can complain and, in some cases, if a Country feels that the United States would be getting too high a Tariff, all they have to do is reduce or terminate their Tariff against us," he wrote.

"There are no Tariffs if you manufacture or build your product in the United States."

"America has helped many Countries throughout the years, at great financial cost. It is now time that these Countries remember this, and treat us fairly – A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR AMERICAN WORKERS," he continued.

India PM Modi has just held talks with top Trump adviser Elon Musk, hours before he is due to attend a bilateral meeting with Trump at the White House.

In a post on X, the social media company owned by Musk, Modi wrote that it was "a very good meeting".

Trump was later asked if Musk was meeting the Indian leader in his capacity as a company CEO or as a representative of the US government.

Trump said he didn't know, and called India a very difficult country to do business in.