Washington:
Little over twenty-four hours before he drops the reciprocal tariff bomb for the world, including his countrymen to deal with, Donald Trump has made a stunning claim – that he heard India will drop tariffs on US imports substantially.
During a press briefing at the Oval Office in the White House, President Trump was asked about reciprocal tariffs that he would officially announce on April 2, and if that would push away some of America’s allies.
In his reply, President Trump said, “I think a lot of them will drop their tariffs because they were being done in an unfair way. They’ve done this for years. If you look at the European Union, they already dropped their tariffs on cars down to two-and-a-half per cent. It was announced a couple of days ago. And I think I heard just a short while ago that India will be dropping its tariffs very substantially.”
#Watch: Donald Trump Claims He “Heard India Will Drop Tariffs Substantially” pic.twitter.com/u1zdyh97Lk
— NDTV WORLD (@NDTVWORLD) April 1, 2025
Mr Trump however, did not give any names or specifics which back his claim that India will be significantly reducing tariffs, which have been in place for decades. There has been no official confirmation on the matter by India either.
President Trump also denied that his reciprocal tariffs might push allies and partners more towards China. “No, it won’t”, said the US President bluntly.
US GEARS UP FOR ‘LIBERATION DAY’
India and the US have been negotiating on a mutually beneficial trade deal even amid repeated threats of reciprocal tariffs by the Trump Administration. The US President has called April 2 “Liberation Day” for the United States.
“A lot of countries will drop its tariffs,” fearing America’s move to do to them, as they do to us, claimed Mr Trump.
On a number of occasions, Donald Trump has labelled India as the “tariff king” and also said that India is one of the biggest “abuser of tariffs”.
Earlier today, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke about the “unfair” trade practices in India’s tariff structure, highlighting how India imposes 100 per cent tariffs on agricultural imports from the US. She also mentioned similar high tariff structures by the EU (50 per cent on American dairy products), Japan (700 per cent on rice), and Canada (300 per cent on butter and cheese). These hinder and hurt US exports and leads to imbalances and trade deficits in the US, she said.
“This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into these markets, and it puts a lot of Americans out of business and out of work over the past several decades,” she added.
STEPS TAKEN BY INDIA SO FAR
While most countries have vowed to retaliate US reciprocal tariffs, India has been one of the very few countries which wants to avoid animosity and friction, and has hence been working to find ways to manage the India-US trade ties amicably.
India has already reduced tariffs on certain products like Harley Davidson motorbikes and American bourbon whiskey. According to a Reuters report, India has apparently also offered to reduce import duties on select agricultural products. News agency Reuters also claims that India has offered reductions on more than half of US imports worth $23 billion – but only if US exempts India from any reciprocal tariff.
In its annual Union Budget for 2025, India has already announced reduction of customs duties on American solar cells, machinery, and luxury cars. India has also announced that it will remove the 6 per cent tax on digital advertisements starting April 1, 2025 – a move that will greatly benefit US tech firms like Meta, Google, and Amazon.
India and the US also aim to speed up talks of a mega trade deal much before its autumn deadline.
