United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India “has long had a field day” with tariffs, and added that it was “no longer acceptable”. Trump’s tweet is the latest in the fledgling trade war as India and the the United States continue to clash over import tariffs.
Trade relations and tariffs have been sore points between the two countries in recent times. On June 10, Trump had said India’s tariff on American motorcycles was too high and not acceptable to him. His comments came even after India halved the tariff from 100% to 50%. Trump has claimed the United States is a bank that everyone wants to rob.
On June 27, the US president said he would talk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the Indian government’s decision to increase tariffs on American products. Trump met Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the city of Osaka in Japan at the end of the month.
In the run-up to the G20 summit, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Modi and held talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in New Delhi on a host of matters, including the impasse in bilateral trade relations. After his meeting with Jaishankar, Pompeo said he differed with the minister’s views on the current state of trade relations between the two countries. He also added that the difference should be taken “in the spirit of friendship” and that he was hopeful of resolving the matter.
Before leaving the United States, the secretary of state had also raised concerns about tariffs imposed by India on 28 US products after the US withdrew its trade privileges.
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