Trump: India Offered to Reduce Tariffs on US Goods to Nothing

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that India has offered to reduce its tariffs on U.S. goods to zero, even as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was making public shows of solidarity with Chinese and Russian leaders in the face of trade pressure from Washington.

While calling the U.S. relationship with India "one sided," Trump wrote wrote on Truth Social; "They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago."

The Indian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Trump's comments, which follow the implementation of total duties as high as 50% on Indian goods that have raised questions about the future of the U.S.-India relationship.

Trump's remark came as Modi was in China for a summit of more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a China-backed initiative given renewed impetus by Trump's global tariff program.

At the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed his vision for a new global security and economic order that prioritizes the "Global South," in a direct challenge to the U.S.

The U.S.-India relationship has strengthened in recent years, including during Trump's first term, given shared concerns about China's growing power, but Trump threatened the tariffs on India after it refused to stop buying Russian oil in defiance of his efforts to end Moscow's war in Ukraine.

In China, in an image designed to convey solidarity, Putin and Modi were shown holding hands as they walked jovially toward Xi before the summit opened. The three men stood shoulder-to-shoulder, laughing and surrounded by interpreters.

Beijing has used the summit to mend ties with New Delhi. Modi, visiting China for the first time in seven years, and Xi agreed on Sunday their countries are development partners, not rivals, and discussed ways to improve trade.

The U.S. State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the meetings in China. (Reporting by Jasper Ward and David Brunnstrom; editing by Scott Malone, Rod Nickel)</p>

This the full text of Trump's Truth post:

What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest “client,” but we sell them very little - Until now a totally one sided relationship, and it has been for many decades. The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high Tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India. It has been a totally one sided disaster! Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the U.S. They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago. Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!