When Trump vowed to continue reciprocity tariffs, he expected it to be India. World News
U.S. President Donald Trump said he hopes India will significantly reduce tariffs, but his plan will continue to charge mutual tax rates.
“I believe they may significantly lower these tariffs, but on April 2, we will charge them the tariffs they charge,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
He told conservative news outlet Breitbart, “I have a good relationship with India, but the only problem I have with India is that they are one of the highest tariff countries in the world.”
Asked about the Central Eastern European Economic Corridor (IMEC), he said it was a band that was grouped together by “a wonderful group of countries” that “oppose other countries that want to hurt us in trade.”
Although China is an obvious target, he has not identified the country they are trying to fight back.
IMEC was presented at the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi, and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Project was signed between India and the United States, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Germany, Germany and Italy.
It will include both marine and land routes and connect India to Italy through the Middle East, before being delivered to the United States across the Atlantic Ocean.
During his visit to the White House last month, Trump strengthened our commitment to the project during Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling it “the largest trade route in history.”
Trump criticized India as the “tariff king” and stressed its high tariffs on motorcycles, luxury cars and whiskey.
In response to Trump’s criticism, Treasury Secretary Nirmala Seetharaman announced that tariffs on luxury cars will be reduced from 125% to 70% and high-end motorcycles will be reduced from 50% to 40%.
Commerce Secretary Piyush Goyal visited Washington this month and spoke with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to avoid tariff hikes.
In particular, the United States hopes that India will reduce its tariffs on agricultural imports.
In Breitbart’s interview, Trump could explain as cautious about India’s dealing with the EU.
He said he often criticized the European Economic Group, saying: “In some cases, those criticisms that are not as friendly to us are better than those that are as friendly to us as the European Union, and are very friendly to our trade, just like the EU”.
He then added: “India and everyone will see them as ally. I can say the same thing to others. But it’s a wonderful country that is against other countries that want to hurt us in trade.”
When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited New Delhi last month, the group and India agreed to speed up negotiations to complete a free trade agreement by the end of the year.
“We have a strong trading partner,” he told Bretbart. “Again, we can’t make these partners have a bad attitude towards us. Frankly, we do better in many ways than with friends.”
Trump had earlier questioned the EU’s claim that it was a goal “to screw up the formation of the United States.”
