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India Offers to Cut Tariffs On US Goods to Zero, Says Trump, Calls Trade a One-Sided Disaster
US President Donald Trump has blamed India for the tariff issue, saying that the India-US trade deal was a “one-sided disaster” and further remarking that India’s proposal to cut tariffs on goods exported from the US to zero is for nothing. He also said, “They have now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago.”
Is the Slow Pace of Trade Deal Talks Causing Increased Tariffs?
American Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently gave a shocking reason for the US imposing such a heavy duty on India. He said India has been slow to discuss the trade deal talks, and these increased tariffs are a result of that. Bessent also said India’s oil purchase policy from Russia is a triggering point for the heavy duties imposed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government say the logic the US uses to support these tariff decisions is not appropriate. The largest democracy has also talked about protecting its farmers from the influx of US produce.
Some US officials have been supporting Trump’s decisions and condemning India for buying oil. One of Trump's aides said that “Brahmin” oil refiners were “profiteering” by reselling Russian oil. PM Modi hasn’t responded to these statements yet, due to his visit to Japan and China.
Why is Donald Trump Angry?
One reason Donald Trump seems angry is that he thinks US goods are taxed too heavily in India. Several sources point out that he might have been angry because Indians don’t think he ended the recent conflict between India and Pakistan. As a result, Trump has apparently imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods sold in the US, which was previously 25%.
These high tariffs, levied by Donald Trump’s government, are mostly affecting labour-intensive sectors, including textiles, jewellery, gems, footwear, leather, and other products. Forecasts have indicated that the export of Indian goods to the US might reduce to about $50 billion in 2026 from the observed $87 billion in 2024. As a consequence, India’s GDP might be affected by 1%, and many people will lose their jobs.