U.S. President Donald Trump has again shown worry about trade relations with India, calling India as “one of the highest tariffing nations in the world.” In an interview with Breitbart News, Trump showed his concerns with India’s trade policies but at the same time he also acknowledged that he shares a “very good relationship” with the country.
Speaking about the India-US relation, Donald 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 have confidence that they will definitely look upon lowering these tariffs substantially, otherwise, we will be moving ahead with our plans of reciprocal tariff on them same as they charge us.”
Donald Trump has repeatedly raised concerns and severely criticized India’s high tariffs on American goods, particularly in automobiles and agriculture. He even noted down that India charges auto tariffs of over 100%, which make it difficult for American manufacturers to directly compete in India’s market.
Reciprocal Tariffs on India from April 2
“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 said. Trump said this in a recent speech to Congress, where he mentioned the US implementation of reciprocal tariffs on the nations charging higher tariffs on American goods.
Bringing the spotlight on trade imbalance, he further added, “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 charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them.”
Donald Trump is looking ahead in his decision to impose reciprocal tariffs on India, as part of his strategical move to safeguard American manufacturers and provide them a safe ground to play along with reducing the trade deficits”. It’s very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent,” he highlighted.
India-US Relations and Economic Partnership
India has shared strong and significant relations with the US over the years apart from the recent controversies and criticisms by US President Donald Trump over trade. Notably, under the current Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, India has broadened its trade and economic ties with the US. Several trade agreements were initiated between both countries in recent years that spread their cooperation to include defence, technology and energy issues.
The unfortunate aspect is that trade conflicts remain one of the main barriers in India-U.S. relations. While the U.S. has time and again demanded low tariffs and more market access in India, India has also sought improvement in its trade benefit from continued growing trade with the U.S. The imposition of reciprocal tariffs might also introduce another layer of complexities in the economic relationship between the two. Donald Trump notes the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
Donald Trump Praises the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
Apart from trade, Trump also spoke about the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, calling it a “group of wonderful nations” working together to strengthen trade and counter other economic powers. “We have a powerful group of partners in trade,” Trump said.
The Foreign Secretary Symington cautioned, nevertheless, that the United States must not allow itself to be exploited by its allies.
“Again, we can’t let those partners treat us badly. We do better in many ways, frankly, with our foes than we do with our friends. 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,” he said.
The Government of India’s Response to Donald Trump’s Comments
The Modi government has not yet put forward an official response to Trump’s comments. Nevertheless, trade experts in India feel that the imposition of reciprocal tariffs could trigger negotiations between the two nations. Negotiating trade disputes has historically been done by the governments, and many analysts expect this time to be no different.
India is also pursuing economic reforms that are likely to respond to some of the U.S. concerns. The Modi government has been actively providing areas of foreign investment with relaxed restrictions and lowered tariffs.
Thus, India-US relations are in constant evolution with trade too intricately woven in.” Although Donald Trump’s comments hung in the air as to trade disputes, they, in a way, opened opportunities for negotiations for a more fair and balanced trade relationship. As Narendra Modi and Trump have had a strong diplomatic relationship in the past, it now remains to be seen how trade hurdles are to be crossed ahead by both countries.
Edited by Saumya Sharan
