U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday stated that he has no plans to reduce tariffs on Indian imports, according to a report by Mint. His comments followed last week’s decision by Washington to double import duties on Indian goods to 50% in response to India’s purchases of Russian oil.

He stated that although the U.S. maintains strong relations with India, he believes trade between the two nations has been uneven for a long time due to India’s high import tariffs. He noted that India has imposed some of the highest tariffs globally for many years, resulting in what he considers a ‘one-sided’ economic relationship.
He added that while the U.S. wasn’t conducting much trade with India, India was still doing significant business with the U.S. because the U.S. did not impose similar tariffs on Indian products.

Trump’s remarks came at the same time Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, where he held meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump asserted that India had proposed a ‘no tariff deal,’ emphasizing that the trade relationship between the U.S. and India has long favored New Delhi. He pointed out that India exports large volumes of goods to the United States while importing relatively little in return.

The decision to implement tariffs was made despite months of talks between Washington and New Delhi. The unexpected action shocked New Delhi, as U.S. trade officials have frequently voiced concerns about India’s protectionist measures. Initially, Trump imposed a 25% duty on Indian exports, which was increased to 50% last week. The hike impacts more than 55% of Indian goods exported to the U.S., India’s largest export destination.

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