Tariffs are going to work out well between India-U.S., Modi is a very smart man: Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Higlighting a positive outlook for the India-U.S. tariff talks, President Donald Trump said ‘tariffs are going to work out well between New Delhi and the Washington, DC,’ expecting a favorable outcome.

While answering questions during an Interaction with reporters at the swearing-in ceremony of the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, on Friday (local time), Mr. Trump praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to him as a “very smart man” and a “great friend.”

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Mr. Trump said, “Prime Minister Modi was here just recently, and we’ve always been very good friends.”

He added, “India is one of the highest tariffing nations in the world… They’re very smart. He [PM Modi] is a very smart man and a great friend of mine. We had very good talks. I think it’s going to work out very well between India and our country. And I want to say you have a great Prime Minister.”

This week, Mr. Trump made a major policy announcement from the Oval Office by declaring a 25% tariff on all imported vehicles entering the United States, a move he described as “very exciting” for domestic manufacturing.

The tariffs, set to take effect on April 2, will impact nearly half of all vehicles sold in the United States, including American brands assembled overseas. The wide-ranging measure aims to incentivise car manufacturers to establish more production facilities within U.S. borders.

Earlier, on several occasions, Mr. Trump had targeted India, saying “they have the highest tariffs” and “it is a hard place to do business.”

In February, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would soon impose reciprocal tariffs on countries like India and China, asserting that the United States would charge the same tariffs these nations impose on American goods.

Mr. Trump said, “We will soon impose reciprocal tariffs- they charge us, we charge them. Whatever a company or a country, such as India or China, charges, we want to be fair; hence, reciprocal.”

He added, “We have never done that. We were getting ready to do it until Covid hit.”

Mr. Trump also specifically targeted India’s tariffs on automobile imports, saying, “India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent.”

While addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress, Mr. Trump said that the reciprocal tax will kick in on April 2. He had said that the US has been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on earth and vowed not to “let that happen any longer.”

He also discussed the tariffs imposed by the European Union, China, Brazil, and Mexico and announced that the US would impose tariffs on other nations based on their actions toward the US.