Washington, Feb 14 (IANS) President Donald Trump referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “significantly tougher negotiator” during discussions on tariffs. “He is much more skilled in negotiations than I am. It’s not even close,” Trump remarked at a press conference following their bilateral meeting, which prominently featured tariffs.
Trump, who announced a new approach for reciprocal tariffs earlier that day, criticized India as the “highest tariff nation in the world”. “Selling products in India is challenging due to their strong trade barriers and tariffs,” Trump noted, emphasizing the substantial trade deficit of $98.4 billion that the US faces as a core issue in his trade policies.
He indicated that the US might impose tariffs in response to those charged by India and other countries on US imports. “We are currently operating as a reciprocal nation,” he stated. “Whatever tariffs India imposes on US goods, we will impose the same.” He added, “This approach is straightforward—if you impose a charge, we will do the same. I believe this is just and fair for both the US and India.”
While presenting his plan for reciprocal tariffs earlier on Thursday, Trump did not define specific new tariffs but rather directed his appointees, Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary and Jamieson for international trade representative, to devise a detailed tariff strategy for each nation within 180 days. Post memorandum signing, Trump also addressed his ongoing grievance with India regarding Harley Davidson motorcycles.
“Harley Davidson faced challenges selling their motorcycles in India due to excessively high taxes and tariffs,” he commented. “I believe they established a factory in India to circumvent these tariffs,” he added. “This is a strategy others could use with us: if manufacturing is done locally, there are no tariffs.”
The White House’s fact sheet on reciprocal tariffs contained erroneous statements regarding India and Harley Davidson. The document claimed that India “imposes a 100% tariff on US motorcycles, compared to only a 2.4% tariff on Indian motorcycles.” However, it has been established that India previously reduced tariffs on heavier Harley Davidson bikes to 50% and recently adjusted them further down to 30%, while lowering tariffs for other models to 40% in the latest budget.