Donald Trump Claims India Offered US Zero-Tariff Trade Deal, India Yet To Confirm Trump’s No-Tariff Trade Statement
New York: President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that India has offered the United States a trade deal with “literally zero tariffs”. Speaking at a business forum in Qatar, Trump said, “India has offered us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff.” Trump’s comments triggered an instant rally back home.
Trump’s remarks come against the backdrop of unease in New Delhi. Indian officials have expressed frustration over Trump’s public claims that he used trade negotiations as leverage to broker a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after four days of cross-border hostilities — a claim Indian authorities have denied.
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump also took a jab at Apple Inc. I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, my friend, I am treating you very good. You are coming up with $500 billion but now I hear you are building all over India. I don’t want you building in India,” Trump said.
“You can build in India, if you want to take care of India, because India is one of the highest tariff nations in the world, so it is very hard to sell in India. They (India) have offered us a deal where basically they have agreed to charge us literally no tariffs. I said, Tim, we are treating you really good, we put up with all the plants you built in #China for years. Trump’s comments come just days after India threatened to retaliate against US tariffs on steel and aluminium, which is a signal that New Delhi is becoming more assertive in trade talks.
