Trump Praises India-US Ties But Highlights 'The Only Problem': 'They’re One Of The Highest...'

US President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that he enjoys a "very good relationship" with India, though he highlighted one issue: the country ranks among "one of the highest tariffing nations in the world."

"I have a very good relationship with India, but the only problem I have with India is they're one of the highest tariffing nations in the world. I believe they're going to probably be lowering those tariffs substantially, but on April 2, we will be charging them the same tariffs they charge us," Trump told Breitbart News, an American far-Right news, opinion, and commentary website, during an interview.

Photo Credit: PTI

Trump described the India-Middle East-Europe-Economic Corridor as a "group of wonderful nations" coming together, "countering other countries that look to hurt us on trade."

"We have a powerful group of partners in trade," Trump remarked.

"Again, we can't let those partners treat us badly, however, we do better in many ways frankly with our foes than we do with our friends," the Republican leader continued.

"The ones that wouldn't be as friendly to us in some cases treat us better than the ones that are supposed to be friendly, like the European Union, which treats us terribly on trade. India and everybody would think of them as an ally," the US president noted.

"I can say the same for others. But this is a group of wonderful nations that is countering other countries that look to hurt us on trade," he added.

Trump's Reciprocal Tariffs on India

On March 5, Trump had condemned the steep tariffs imposed by India and other nations, calling them "very unfair" and unveiling plans for reciprocal tariffs starting April 2 on countries that levy duties on American products.

Trump made these comments during an address to the Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, marking his first speech of his second term in the White House.

"If you don't make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and in some cases, a rather large one," PTI quoted Trump as saying.

"Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada - have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them," Trump said. "It's very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent," he added.