Washington/New Delhi: US President Donald Trump announced a 26% “discounted reciprocal tariff” on Indian imports, while describing the tariffs imposed by India as “very very tough”.
While discussing India, during his address at the White House Rose Garden, President Trump said that New Delhi was “very, very tough”, and added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “is a great friend” of his.
“India, very, very tough. Very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left. He’s a great friend of mine, but I said, ‘You are a friend of mine, but you are not treating us right,’” he said.
He said that India charges 52 per cent tariffs on US.
“They charge us 52 per cent. You have to understand, we charge them almost nothing for years and years and decades, and it was only seven years ago, when I came in, that we started with China,” he said.
The reciprocal tariff will be effective from April 9, according to a statement from the White House.
“This is Liberation Day, a long-awaited moment. 2nd April 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again. We are going to make it wealthy, good, and wealthy,” President Trump said.
The announcement of reciprocal tariffs comes as India and the US are negotiating a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement with the first tranche expected to be ready by the fall of 2025.
