U.S. President Donald Trump has once again claimed that India has offered the United States a zero-tariff trade deal. He made this statement while highlighting his role in easing tensions between India and Pakistan.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump touched on the tariff issue while speaking about the reduction of military tensions between India and Pakistan. He claimed that he tried to reduce the friction by initiating trade talks, listing India among the countries with the highest tariffs in the world.
Trump said, “There was a lot of tension and hatred between India and Pakistan, so I said let’s talk trade. We’ll do a lot of trade.” He emphasized that he is using trade as a diplomatic tool to bring people together and promote peace.
He further claimed, “Do you know that India is ready to remove 100% of its tariffs for the United States?” However, there has been no official confirmation of any such agreement from either India or the U.S. The Indian government has also not issued any formal statement. During a weekly press briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified that in the recent telephonic conversation between Indian and U.S. leaders, there was no discussion related to trade in the context of Operation Sindhur.
When asked whether a deal with India would happen soon, Trump replied, “Yes, it will come soon. But I’m in no rush. Everyone wants to make a deal with us.” He added, “South Korea also wants a deal, but I can’t make deals with every country. There are 150 countries that want a trade deal with the U.S. I’ll be making limited deals with select nations.”
This marked the seventh consecutive day Trump has claimed credit for easing tensions between India and Pakistan. His statement comes at a time when ministerial-level talks on a proposed bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States are about to begin. Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has arrived in Washington to attend the meeting, scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 17.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)