US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that India has offered to reduce its tariffs on US products to zero, adding that New Delhi should have done so years ago.
The Trump administration already levies 25 percent reciprocal tariffs on India, as well as another 25 percent on Indian purchases of Russian oil, taking overall duties on Indian products to 50 percent—among the highest in the world.
Trump blamed India indirectly for supporting Moscow's aggression against Ukraine by importing Russian oil. But he did not directly impose harder sanctions on Russia. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar justified India's approach by citing that the same standards were not applied to China or the European Union, the biggest importer of Russian crude and LNG.
"They have now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it's getting late. They should have done so years ago," Trump posted on Truth Social, saying that the US-India relationship has been a "one-sided disaster."
New Delhi said that, as with any large economy, it will take measures needed to secure its national interest and economic security.
Trump's comments came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin.
Since coming back to the White House, Trump has employed tariffs as a general policy instrument, upsetting international commerce. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit just declared that most of Trump's tariffs were unlawful because they lacked authority but permitted them to stand temporarily, allowing him time to appeal to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.
India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stated India would not "bow down" but rather concentrate on reaching new markets, his first public statement since Washington slapped high tariffs.
The new US actions strained relations, with New Delhi earlier terming the levies as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable." The trade talks have run aground, especially on agriculture and dairy, with Trump looking for increased access and PM Modi wanting protection for Indian farmers.
In 2024, the US was India's largest export market, with exports worth $87.3 billion.
"What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us," Trump said.
"In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest "client," but we sell them very little - 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. It has been a totally one sided disaster! Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the U.S," he added.
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