New Delhi: Affirming his stance on charging reciprocal tariffs, US President Donald Trump has revealed he was adamant on it while discussing the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week during his visit to Washington DC.
In a joint televised interview with billionaire Elon Musk, US President Donald Trump asserted that India would not be exempt from Washington’s reciprocal tariffs. Speaking with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump reaffirmed his stance on global trade and the existing tariff structures between the US and its trade partners.
“I told Prime Minister Modi yesterday — he was here. I said, Here’s what you do. We’re going to do — be very fair with you. They charge the highest tariffs in the world, just about,” Trump said in the interview according to the transcript shared by the White House.
India imposes some of the highest tariffs on certain US imports, particularly in the automobile sector, where duties on foreign cars can reach up to 100 per cent. Sitting beside President Donald Trump in the interview, Elon Musk confirmed this, stating, “It’s 100 per cent – auto imports are 100 per cent.”
President Trump responded, “Yeah, that’s peanuts. So much higher. And others too.”
He argued that such high tariffs make it nearly impossible for American companies to sell in India unless they set up manufacturing plants there, which he views as “unfair” to the US economy.
Under his proposed reciprocal tariff system, the US would impose the same level of tariffs on Indian imports as India applies to American goods. “Nobody can argue with me,” Trump insisted. “If I said 25 per cent, they’d say, ‘Oh, that’s terrible.’ I don’t say that anymore… because I say, ‘Whatever they charge, we’ll charge.’ And you know what? They stop.”
This is not the first time Trump has criticised India’s tariff policies. During his first term, he frequently referred to India as the “tariff king” due to its high import duties on US products. Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Washington, both nations committed to doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 and finalising a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by autumn 2025.
