'We get along very well...': Trump on ties with India amid tariff war
PTC News Desk: US President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of India’s trade practices, accusing New Delhi of levying some of the world’s highest tariffs and describing the bilateral economic relationship as “one-sided.”
From the Oval Office, Trump remarked, “We have good relations with India, but for many years the trade equation was heavily tilted in their favor. Until I came in, India was imposing extremely high tariffs — among the highest globally. As a result, our business presence there was limited, while they freely accessed our markets since we weren’t charging them. We weren’t charging them anything.”
"So they would send in massive, you know, everything they made, they'd send it in, it poured into our country. Therefore, it wouldn't be made here, you know, which is a negative. But we would not send in anything because they were charging us 100 percent tariffs," Trump said.
Citing an example, Trump pointed to the struggles of Harley-Davidson, one of America’s most recognised motorcycle brands, in selling its products in India.
"Harley-Davidson couldn't sell into India. There was a 200 percent tariff on a motorcycle. So what happens? Harley-Davidson went to India and built a motorcycle plant. And now they don't have to pay tariffs. Same thing as us," Trump remarked.
He further alleged that such tariff imbalances had driven companies to move production outside the US. However, he maintained that his administration’s trade measures, including steep reciprocal tariffs, were beginning to correct the imbalance.
- PTC NEWS
