New Delhi:
US President Donald Trump today reiterated his criticism of the “very unfair” tariffs imposed by India and other nations and announced that reciprocal tariffs would take effect on April 2. Trump aims to impose the same tariff rates on imports from foreign countries as those nations impose on US exports.
“Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries,” Trump said in his address to a Joint Session of Congress, the first of his second term. “On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India-Mexico and Canada – have you heard of them? – and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It’s very unfair.”
Citing India as an example, Trump said, “India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent.”
Trump repeated his longstanding position that the United States must counter what he sees as inequitable trade policies. He said that his administration would “soon” impose reciprocal tariffs on countries such as India and China, echoing comments he made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington last month.
He said that he had made it clear to PM Modi that India would not be exempt from the new tariff measures. “Nobody can argue with me” on this, he added.
Trump said that beginning April 2, the US will impose tariffs equivalent to those charged by other nations. “Whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. That’s reciprocal – back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market,” he said.
His comments came after the administration imposed sweeping levies on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China, citing issues such as illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The move has drawn sharp rebukes from international leaders.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Trump of trying to cripple Canada’s economy in a bid to facilitate a US annexation. He also criticized Washington for targeting close allies while “appeasing” Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
