 "'They’re one of the highest...': Trump flags 'the only problem' he has with India")
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he enjoys a “very good relationship” with India, but his only issue is that it has one of the highest tariff rates in the world.
In an interview to Breitbart News, an American-based website, Trump said, “I have a very good relationship with India, but the only problem I have with India is they’re one of the highest tariffing nations in the world.”
“I believe they’re going to probably be lowering those tariffs substantially, but on April 2, we will be charging them the same tariffs they charge us,” he added.
Trump described the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor as a “group of wonderful nations” coming together to “counter other countries that seek to harm us in trade.”
“We have a powerful group of partners in trade,” Trump was quoted as saying.
The US president emphasised the importance of not allowing partners to treat the US poorly, noting that, in many ways, the country often fares better with adversaries than with allies.
“The ones that wouldn’t be as friendly to us in some cases treat us better than the ones that are supposed to be friendly, like the European Union, which treats us terribly on trade. India and everybody would think of them as an ally,” said Trump.
“I can say the same for others. But this is a group of wonderful nations that is countering other countries that look to hurt us on trade," he added.
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View AllOn March 5, Trump criticised the high tariffs imposed by India and other countries, calling them “very unfair,” and announced that reciprocal tariffs would take effect on April 2 for countries that levy taxes on American goods.
These comments were made during his address to the Joint Session of Congress, marking his first address of his second term in the White House.
“If you don’t make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and in some cases, a rather large one,” Trump was quoted as saying.
“Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada — have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them,” Trump said.
“It’s very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent,” he added.
With inputs from agencies
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