On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States will impose reciprocal tariffs on India and other countries starting April 2. He accused these nations of unfairly imposing high tariffs on American goods, which he deemed unacceptable. Trump emphasized that his administration aims to ensure a level playing field by applying the same tariffs on imports from these countries as they impose on US exports. He reiterated his commitment to protecting American businesses and workers, stating that the new tariffs would help reduce trade imbalances and promote fair trade practices globally.
Trump Defends Reciprocal Tariffs, Calls for Fair Trade Practices
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Addressing a joint session of the US Congress, President Trump stated that other countries have imposed tariffs on the United States for decades, and now the US will impose tariffs on them in return. He emphasized that the European Union, China, Brazil, India, and many other nations charge significantly higher tariffs on American goods than the US imposes on their imports, calling it unfair. He specifically pointed out that India applies a 100 percent tariff on US products and criticized the system for never being fair to the United States.
Trump stated that tariffs are meant to make America rich and great again, assuring that the impact would be minimal and would happen quickly. He emphasized that the reciprocal measures would cause only a slight disturbance, which the US could handle without much trouble. In February, President Trump announced that his administration would soon impose reciprocal tariffs on countries like India and China, reiterating his stance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington last month.
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India Not Exempt from US Reciprocal Tariffs, Trade Imbalance Highlighted
Trump directly informed Prime Minister Modi that India would not be exempt from Washington’s reciprocal tariffs, stressing that no one could challenge him on the tariff structure. He highlighted that China imposes tariffs on US products at twice the rate the US applies to Chinese goods, while South Korea’s tariffs are four times higher.