Washington DC: On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced plans to soon implement reciprocal tariffs targeting countries like India and China, emphasizing that the United States will impose the same tariffs that these nations apply to American products.
Trump stated, “We will soon implement reciprocal tariffs—they charge us, we charge them. Whatever a country or company, such as India or China, imposes, we aim to be fair; that is the essence of reciprocity.”
Get Latest Mathrubhumi Updates in English
He further mentioned, “We have never done that before. We were on the verge of doing so until Covid arrived.”
In a statement prior to his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump had expressed concerns about India’s tariff policies, remarking that “they have the highest tariffs” and noted that “it is difficult to conduct business there.”
Trump’s comments came during a press conference where he was asked about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s meeting with PM Modi.
“They met. I assume he is interested in doing business in India. However, it’s a challenging environment for business due to the tariffs. They have the highest tariffs. It’s quite a tough place for business operations. I would assume he met with PM Modi possibly because he is leading a company and has been passionate about this for a long time,” Trump stated.
Addressing the topic of reciprocal tariffs, Trump referenced India’s historical trade practices, using Harley-Davidson motorcycles as an example of how American firms have been compelled to establish manufacturing facilities overseas to avoid high import duties.
“Historically, India has been among those with the highest tariffs. While a few smaller countries exceed them, India imposes significant tariffs. I recall that Harley-Davidson faced challenges selling their bikes in India due to the exorbitant taxes and tariffs, which ultimately forced them to set up manufacturing there,” he noted, as reported by US Network Pool via Reuters.