Donald Trump on Wednesday called the relationship between India and the United States “one-sided” and said this has been the same for many years.
Speaking to reporters, days after he justified the 50 per
cent tariffs imposed on Indian imports, the US President argued that India imposed some of the highest tariffs in the world, which made it difficult for American companies to do business there, while Indian goods flowed freely into the US market.
Trump also spoke about the case of Harley-Davidson, which he said faced a 200 per cent tariff on its motorcycles in India. According to him, the company eventually set up a plant in India to avoid paying the duties.
The President claimed that his administration’s tariff policies are now encouraging global manufacturers, including carmakers, to set up production units in the United States.
“We get along with India very well, but for many years, it was a one-sided relationship. India was charging us tremendous tariffs, the highest in the world,” Trump told reporters, as he responded to queries about reconsidering the tariffs on India at the White House.
“We weren’t doing much business with India, but they were doing business with us because we weren’t charging them foolishly. They would send in a massive amount of everything they made, and pour it into our country,” he asserted.
“Therefore, it wouldn’t be made here, which is a negative,” the US President added.
“Harley-Davidson couldn’t sell in India. There was a 200 per cent tariff on a motorcycle. Harley-Davidson went to India and built a motorcycle plant. Now they don’t have to pay tariffs,” he claimed.
“Thousands of companies are coming into the US. We have many car company factories under construction, and they come from China, Mexico, and Canada. They want to build here for two reasons. Number 1, they’d like to be here. Number 2, tariffs protect them. And number 3, they want to avoid paying tariffs,” Trump said.
Earlier in a post on Truth Social, the US President had claimed that the business relationship between India and the US for many decades has been “totally one-sided”, “one-sided disaster” and also that “they have now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late”.
He stated that India has charged the US “such high tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India”.
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