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India
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday reaffirmed his strong relationship with India but expressed concerns over the country’s high tariffs on American goods.
“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,” Trump said in an interview with Breitbart News. He further stated that he believes India will likely reduce these tariffs significantly.
However, Trump also announced a firm stance on trade, stating, “On April 2, we will be charging them the same tariffs they charge us.”
Support for India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
During the interview, Trump spoke positively about the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, calling it a coalition of “wonderful nations” that is working together to counter countries that, according to him, “look to hurt us on trade.”
“We have a powerful group of partners in trade,” he said. However, he cautioned that the U.S. must ensure that its partners do not take unfair advantage of trade agreements.
“Again, we can’t let those partners treat us badly. However, we do better in many ways, frankly, with our foes than we do with our friends,” Trump stated.
The president also criticized the European Union, asserting that it treats the U.S. poorly when it comes to trade. “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, everybody would think of them as an ally,” he said.
Trump Announces Reciprocal Tariffs
Trump’s latest comments follow his previous remarks on March 5, where he criticized high tariffs imposed by India and other countries, calling them “very unfair.”
Speaking before a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday—his first address since beginning his second term in the White House—Trump announced that the U.S. would implement reciprocal tariffs starting 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,” he said, as quoted by PTI.
Trump emphasized that other nations have imposed tariffs on American goods for years, and now it is the U.S.’s turn to respond. “Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries.”
Trump Calls it Unfair
He pointed to multiple countries that, he claims, have imposed significantly higher tariffs on U.S. goods. “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,” he said.
“It’s very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 percent,” Trump added.
