New Delhi: Ahead of the April 2 deadline for reciprocal tariffs, United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that India is going to reduce the tariffs imposed on American goods ‘very substantially’. Addressing the press conference in the Oval Office, Trump claimed that the move would bring India in line with other US allies, signalling the arrival of “Liberation Day” for American trade.
“I think I heard that India just a little while ago is going to be dropping its tariffs very substantially…. A lot of countries are going to be dropping their tariffs,” Trump told the reporters. When asked whether the tariffs might push some of the United States’ closest allies to work with China, Trump dismissed the idea and stated that he is not worried about it.
“I think a lot of them will drop their tariffs because they have been unfairly tariffing the United States for years and if you look European Union on Cars, the European Union already dropped their tariff to two and a half per cent which was announced a couple of days ago. The United States charged a very little tariff,” he added.
Previously Trump called India a “Tariff king” and “Tariff abuser”. Both countries are seeking to engage in trade negotiations aimed at making significant changes to their trade relations.
Pointing out the unfair trade practices in India’s tariff system, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted the 100 per cent tariff by India on US agricultural products. Discussing the higher tariff by other countries she mentioned the European Union which imposes a 50 per cent tariff on American dairy, Japan which imposes a 700 per cent tariff on American rice, and Canada which imposes a 300 per cent tariff on American cheese and butter. She emphasised that such high tariffs hinder US exports through significant trade imbalances.
