Trump Targets India for 100% Trade Tariff at G7 Summit

Trump’s remarks came at a time when the India-US relationship has been on a positive trajectory for years.

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

(Photo: The Quint) 

United States President Donald Trump has taken a swipe at India along with the world's other top economies and accused New Delhi of charging 100 percent tariff on some of the United States' goods, as he threatened to cut trade ties with countries who are robbing America.

Trump made the remarks in Canada's Quebec City where he was attending the G7 summit that ended in farce after he abruptly rejected the text of a consensus statement and bitterly insulted the host.

“We’re like the piggybank that everybody is robbing,” Trump said while addressing a press conference on Saturday, 9 June.

He also made a reference to India, indicating that his grievances on tariffs was not restricted to the developed economies alone.

This isn’t just G7. I mean, we have India, where some of the tariffs are 100 percent. A hundred percent. And we charge nothing. We can’t do that. And so we are talking to many countries.

Donald Trump, US President said at the G7 summit

Trump has repeatedly raked up the issue of India imposing high import duty on the iconic Harley-Davidson motorcycles and threatened to increase the import tariff on "thousands and thousands" of Indian motorcycles to the US.

"We're talking to all countries. And it's going to stop. Or we'll stop trading with them. And that's a very profitable answer, if we have to do it," Trump warned before leaving Canada for Singapore where he is scheduled to hold a much publicised summit with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un on 12 June.

His remarks came at a time when the India-US relationship has been on a positive trajectory for years. For example, bilateral trade expanded by USD 11 billion last year to more than USD 125 billion, a new record.

Trump, who is pushing his 'America First' policy, said his ultimate goal was the elimination of all trade duties.

Ultimately that’s what you want. You want a tariff free. You want no barriers. And you want no subsidies. Because you have some cases where countries are subsidising industries and that’s not fair.

Donald Trump, US President

China and the US have averted a trade war by reaching an agreement last month under which Beijing has agreed to "significantly increase" its purchases of American goods and services to reduce USD 375 billion trade deficit with Washington.

The top trading partners of the US are upset over recent imposition of a 25 percent tariff on import of steel and 15 percent on aluminum.

The US has said that the best way to solve trade disputes was by lowering tariff and non-tariff barriers by countries and allowing the free market to operate.

Under Trump, trade dispute between India and the US has increased, with his administration asking New Delhi to lower its trade barriers and open up its market.

However, unlike countries like China, Mexico and Canada and those from Europe, India is not on top of the trade issues for the Trump administration.