US President Donald Trump and his aides have made several unverified remarks about India in recent times. On Monday, Trump added another claim while defending the steep tariffs on India, saying that New Delhi had offered to reduce tariffs to zero, but argued that the move was coming too late.
Trump also described the India-U.S. relationship as a “one-sided disaster”. On his Truth Social, a social media site, came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the fringes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China.
US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social “What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest “client,” but we sell them very little – Until now a totally one sided relationship, and it has been for many decades. The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high Tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India. It has been a totally one sided disaster! Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the U.S. They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago. Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!”
Trump made these remarks after facing criticism for damaging relations with India, which the US has long viewed as a key strategic partner to counter China’s influence in the region. Last month, Democrats on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee accused him of unfairly targeting India with tariffs, arguing that the move not only hurt Americans but also undermined the US-India relationship.
