United States of America : Donald Trump already has again pledged to impose reciprocal tariffs resume on countries such as India and China saying that if they charge the U.S., then the U.S. will charge them. At the swearing-in ceremony of the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Trump said, “We’re going to soon be imposing reciprocal tariffs because that means if they charge us, we charge them. It’s very simple.”
Trump reminisced about a previous call he had with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he suggested it. Modi did not sign on, he said: “No, no, I don’t like that.” But Trump insisted, saying, “Whatever you charge, I’m going to charge.” He says this policy was never really enforced before but his administration is prepared to carry it out.
His remarks also follow closely on the heels of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s recent meeting with Modi. In doing so, Trump criticized high tariffs in India where he acknowledged Musk’s interest in expanding Tesla’s operations there, saying it was “a very hard place to do business.”
Trump has regularly highlighted India’s high import duties, most recently using Harley-Davidson’s troubles as an example. He remembered that the iconic U.S. motorcycle company was forced to open production in India because of the extremely high tariffs.
With these renewed comments, Trump is signaling that trade relations with India could change a lot if he returns to power.
