US President Donald Trump reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underscoring that the United States will match the tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to ensure fair trade practices.
“We are, right now, a reciprocal nation. If India or any other country has low tariffs, we’ll charge the same. Whatever India charges, we will charge them. Whatever another country charges, we will match it,” Trump stated.
However, the US President emphasized that his trade concerns with the European Union and China are more significant than those with India, pointing to high tariffs and unfair practices that affect US businesses.
“The European Union is very difficult for us. They tax our companies at levels that nobody has ever seen before. They take advantage of a lot of things, and we’re not happy about that,” Trump remarked.
On China, Trump stressed that his administration has taken a tougher stance compared to previous US governments. “China, of course, is terrible. We’ve never taken in a single cent until I was president. Now, we’ve taken in hundreds of billions of dollars from China during my first term and now. We had to do that to ensure fairness. That’s what I’ve done,” he explained.
Regarding India, Trump reflected on his first term’s efforts to secure tariff reductions, which ultimately did not lead to concessions. As a result, the US has adopted a straightforward reciprocal approach.
“So, we are being reciprocal with India. Whatever India charges, we charge them. Frankly, it no longer matters to us what they charge. I had discussions with India in my first term about their high tariffs, and I was unable to secure a concession,” he said.
“We’re going to make it simple now. Whatever they charge, we charge. I think this is fair for the American people,” he concluded.
