Donald Trump reignites tariff issue with India
New Delhi, Jul 09: Weeks after holding discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump Tuesday raked up the issue of tariff imposed by India on American products, saying it is “no longer acceptable.”
Ahead of meeting Modi on the eve of the G20 Summit held in Osaka, Trump had targeted India for “very high tariffs”. He said New Delhi’s recent imposition of retaliatory import duties was “unacceptable” and should be withdrawn.
“I look forward to speaking with Prime Minister Modi about the fact that India, for years having put very high tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the tariffs even further. This is unacceptable and the tariffs must be withdrawn,” Trump had tweeted.
However, according to those privy to the discussions at the bilateral meeting, the US President — who had tweeted against India’s “very high tariffs” barely 24 hours before the meeting — displayed “no bitterness”.
The United States is already engulfed in a major trade war with China with continuous slapping of tariffs on products from both the countries. However, Trump had halted any further imposition of tariffs after meeting Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit. “We had a very good meeting with President Xi of China,” Trump said after the talks. “I would say excellent.” “We are right back on track,” he added, without providing any details of any agreement.
In the long run, the trade war could have a silver lining for some countries including India. India is among a handful of economies that stand to benefit from the trade tensions between the world’s top two economies, the United Nations has said in a report.
