While trade talks between the US and India remain ongoing over tariffs, former President Donald Trump has termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "much tougher negotiator" than himself.
"He's a much better negotiator than me. There is no comparison," Trump said in a press briefing after their bilateral meeting on Thursday, during which trade barriers dominated the discussion.
Earlier today, Trump unveiled a new reciprocal tariff plan, targeting India, which he called "one of the highest tariff countries in the world."
"India has very powerful trade barriers and very high tariffs, and it's hard to sell there," he said, pointing to the US's $98.4 billion trade deficit as a key concern in his administration's policies.
Trump threatened to impose tariffs similar to those India and other countries have been imposing. "We're now a reciprocal country," he stated. "Whatever India charges us, we'll charge them equally."
He added that this method was simple and said, "We're making it simple—whatever you charge us, we'll charge you. It's good for America, and honestly, I believe it's good for India too."
While announcing his tariff policy, Trump did not give clear rates but issued a mandate ordering his nominees—Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary and Jamieson for international trade representative—to prepare a country-by-country tariff strategy within 180 days.
Trump also brought back an old complaint regarding India's tariffs on Harley Davidson motorcycles, saying that the firm had to pay high taxes when it attempted to enter the Indian market.
"Harley Davidson had to open a factory in India simply to stay out of the enormous tariffs," he added. "That's what firms can do here—if they make in the US, there will be no tariffs."
But the White House's official factsheet on tit-for-tat tariffs had some inaccuracies in India's duties on US motorcycles. It stated that India had a 100 percent tariff on American motorcycles, while the US had a 2.4 percent tariff on Indian motorcycles.
In fact, India had already cut the tariff on big Harley Davidson models to 50 percent and, according to this month's budget, further reduced it to 30 percent, while other models had a 40 percent tariff.
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