US President Trump Vows To Impose Reciprocal Tariff On India, China

US President Donald Trump once again said that he would impose reciprocal tariffs on countries like India and China.

'They Charge Us, We Charge Them'

Speaking in Washington on Friday, Trump said, "We will soon impose reciprocal tariffs -- they charge us, we charge them. Whatever a company or a country, such as India or China, charges, we want to be fair; hence, reciprocal." He added, "We have never done that. We were getting ready to do it until Covid hit."

During his campaigns, Trump has repeatedly mentioned about the tariffs imposed by India and that he would impose reciprocal tariffs. Last week, he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi-Trump Meet

Speaking at a press conference in Washington after a bilateral meeting, Trump welcomed India's recent move to reduce tariffs on US goods but stressed the importance of addressing trade imbalances. He reiterated his administration's commitment to ensuring a level playing field, stating that the US would implement a reciprocal tariff policy.

"It's very hard to sell into India because of their strong trade barriers and high tariffs," Trump said. "But now, under our new reciprocal tariff system, whatever India charges us, we will charge them. It's a fair approach for the American people."

On asking about the meeting of Tesla CEO Elon Musk with PM Modi, the US President said, "They met. I assume he wants to do business in India. But India is a very hard place to do business in because of the tariffs. They have the highest tariffs... It's a hard place to do business. I would imagine he met possibly because he is running a company, he is doing this as something that he has felt strongly about for a long time,"

Regarding the reciprocal tariffs, Trump gave an example of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and said that the US company was forced to set up manufacturing units abroad inorder to get relief from exorbitant import duties.

"Traditionally, India is right at the top of the pack pretty much. There are a couple of smaller countries that are actually more but India charges tremendous tariffs. I remember when Harley Davidson couldn't sell their motorbikes in India because of the fact that in India - the tax was so high, the tariff was so high, and Harley was forced to build," Trump claimed.