US President Donald Trump has again asserted that India presented him with a "no tariff" deal, as he justified the move to impose a 50 per cent duty on Indian imports.
During a telephonic interview on The Scott Jennings Radio Show, Trump referred to India as the "most tariffed country" in the world and claimed that his tariff impositions made New Delhi succumb to concessions.
“China kills us with tariffs, India kills us with tariffs, Brazil kills us with tariffs. I've understood tariffs better than they did; I understood tariffs better than any human beings in the world,” Donald Trump said.
He then went on to reiterate his claims of being offered a “no tariff” deal by India, saying, “India was the most highly tariffed nation in the world, and you know what, they've offered me no tariffs in India anymore. No tariffs. If I didn't have tariffs, they would never make that offer. So you have to have tariffs.”
At the start of the week, Trump also characterized US-India trade relations as "totally one-sided" and a "one-sided disaster," alleging, "they (India) have now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it's getting late"
“What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest 'client,' but we sell them very little." The Republican President said.
"Until now a totally one-sided relationship, and it has been for many decades. The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high Tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India,” he added.
“It has been a totally one-sided disaster! Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the US They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it's getting late. They should have done so years ago. Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!” Trump added.
India is facing mounting uncertainty after the US imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, followed by an additional 25 per cent levy tied to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian crude oil. The combined duties have raised US tariffs on Indian imports to 50 per cent, making India one of the most heavily tariffed countries.
Locally, Trump's tariff policies have attracted legal and political opposition. Recently, a US appeals court declared the tariffs "illegal," piling on political opposition in Washington.
At the same time, former US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan blamed Trump for hurting India relationship.
“US has worked to build a relationship with India, a country that we should be aligned with on technology, talent, economics and so many issues. And align with dealing with strategic threats from China. Now. I think because of Pakistan's willingness to do business with the Trump family, Trump has thrown away India's relationship on the side. Germany or Japan will look at that (India) and say that could be us tomorrow. America's friends will think that they can't rely on us in any way,” Sullivan told MeidasTouch.
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