New Delhi: US President Donald Trump’s public comments on how his conversation on tariffs with Prime Minister Narendra Modi went has unveiled a fact that the Indian government has been keen to side-step – that India has not avoided a tariff hike despite the purported bonhomie that Modi has been keen to project with Trump.
In an interview to Fox News along with his billionaire adviser, Elon Musk, Trump said, according to the White House transcription:
“(E)very country in the world takes advantage of us, and they do it with tariffs. They makes — make it — it’s impossible for him to sell a car, practically, in, as an example, India. I don’t know if that’s true or not…”
Musk then chips in with a note: “The tariffs are like 100% import duty.”
“Now if he built the factory in India, that’s okay, but that’s unfair to us. It’s very unfair,” Trump said of Musk’s plans.
Trump then went on to describe his conversation with Modi:
“And I said, “You know what we do?” I told Prime Minister Modi yesterday — he was here. I said, “Here’s what you do. We’re going to do — be very fair with you.” They charge the highest tariffs in the world, just about.”
When Fox’s Sean Hannity asks if the tariffs are “36%”, Trumps says it is much higher and Musk says that auto imports are “100%.” However, India’s new EV policy offers a 15% reduction on import duties provided the carmaker makes a substantial investment in the country and sets up a local factory – something that is likely to help the Tesla CEO.
“Yeah, that’s peanuts,” Trump goes on to say, agreeing with Musk. “So, much higher. And — and others too. I said, “Here’s what we’re going to do: reciprocal. Whatever you charge, I’m charging.” He goes, “No, no, I don’t like that.” “No, no, whatever you charge, I’m going to charge.” I’m doing that with every country.”
The US president then goes to say that “nobody can argue” with him.
“You know, the media can’t argue — I said — they said, “Tariffs — you’re going to charge tariffs?” You know, if I said, like, 25 percent they’d say, “Oh, that’s terrible.” I don’t say that anymore — because I say, “Whatever they charge, we’ll charge.””
India has not addressed whether the meeting between Trump and Modi was effective in actually stalling the hike in tariffs that Trump had been promising.