Trump says good ties with India, calls high tariffs on US goods a problem

President Donald Trump has said that he believes India will lower its tariffs on American goods, even as he reiterated his threat to impose reciprocal US tariffs on the country starting April 2.

In an interview with Breitbart News, an American news, opinion, and commentary website, Trump discussed the US' relationship with India.

Asked about his summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, Trump said he has a “very good relationship” with India.

"But the only problem I have with India is they’re one of the highest tariffing nations in the world,” the website quoted Trump as saying.

“I believe they’re...probably going to be lowering those tariffs substantially, but on April 2, we will be charging them the same tariffs they charge us.”

When asked about the India-Middle East-Europe-Economic Corridor (IMEC), a deal he signed the US on to during Modi’s visit to the US, Trump did not mention China in particular but said it was a “group of wonderful nations” banding together “countering other countries that look to hurt us on trade.”

“We have a powerful group of partners in trade,” Trump said.

“Again, we can’t let those partners treat us badly, however. We do better in many ways frankly with our foes than we do with our friends," Trump was quoted as saying by the website.

"The ones that wouldn’t be as friendly to us in some cases treat us better than the ones that are supposed to be friendly, like the European Union, which treats us terribly on trade," Trump said.

"India and everybody would think of them as an ally. I can say the same for others. But this is a group of wonderful nations that is countering other countries that look to hurt us on trade," he added.

Trump earlier this month said that India has agreed to cut its tariffs “way down” as he reiterated his claim that the country charges America massive tariffs that make it difficult to sell products there.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal, however told a Parliamentary panel in New Delhi on March 10 that negotiations are still on and no agreement on trade tariffs has been reached so far between India and the US.

Trump has been criticizing the high tariffs charged by India.

In his address to the joint session of Congress on March 4, the first of his second term in the White House, Trump criticized the high tariffs charged by India and other countries and termed them “very unfair”.

In the past, Trump has called India a “tariff king" and a "big abuser”.

India had said it was looking at deepening trade ties with the US, including by reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, under a bilateral trade agreement.

During Prime Minister Modi's visit to the US last month, both sides announced plans to negotiate a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

(PTI)