In a recent statement, former U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted India’s trade practices, describing it as the “highest tariffed nation anywhere in the world” and emphasizing the challenges faced by U.S. businesses due to India’s high trade barriers and tariffs.
“I don’t blame him necessarily, but it’s a different way of doing business. It is very hard to sell in India because they have trade barriers and restored tariffs,” Trump said. “We are now a reciprocal nation. If there is India or any other nation with high tariffs, whatever India charges, we are charging them the same. It’s called reciprocal, which I think is very fair.”
Trump also reflected on the economic success of his administration before the pandemic struck. “We had the greatest economy in the world—there’s never been an economy like we had. But Covid came, and we had to focus on that. I wasn’t in the mood to put it on Italy, Spain, France, India, and other countries because the world was troubled.”
However, Trump made it clear that the time had come to focus on ensuring fairness in trade once again. He particularly criticized the European Union for taxing U.S. companies at excessive levels. “The European Union is very difficult for us. They tax our companies at levels nobody has ever seen before. China, of course, is terrible. Before I was president, we never took in ten cents from China. Since my presidency, we’ve taken in hundreds of billions of dollars from China.”
Regarding India, Trump noted that his previous discussions during his first term about India’s high tariffs did not yield significant results. “I had discussions with India in the first term about the fact that their tariffs were very high, and I was unable to get a concession. So we’re just going to do it in an easy way—whatever you charge, we charge. That is fair for the U.S., and I think it is actually fair for India.”
Trump’s comments underline his firm stance on adopting a reciprocal trade policy to protect American interests and promote fairness in global trade.
Also Read: BIG Problem’: Donald Trump Calls India’s Tariffs Unfair
