New Delhi [India], February 15 : Former Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, has shed light on Donald Trump's stance on tariffs, stating that the US President believes tariffs are a means to achieve economic balance.
Addressing the topic of reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Trump on Indian goods, Sandhu clarified that Trump's tariffs weren't specifically targeted at India, but rather part of a broader approach to address trade imbalances with multiple countries, including US allies.
Speaking withhe said, "President Trump believes that tariffs are a method by which economic balance can be done. It's his perception and he has spoken about it earlier too. Now we also need to see the Indian part in perspective. So it involved about USD 40 billion. India is not one of the largest countries there having the imbalance. There are other countries and those countries are also many of them are allies of the US. So it is not that this was directed towards India, but what you have pointed out is what they have decided as far as trade and investment is concerned."
Sandhu also highlighted the significance of India-US trade relations, noting that India was a key trade partner during Trump's first term.
He expressed hope that this relationship would continue under the current administration, citing Indian companies' investments in the US, which total almost $8 billion and have created high-quality jobs.
"Remember that Indian companies also have an issue with market access to the US and supply chain. And on the supply chain, I would like to mention that it was in Trump 1.0, during the COVID time, that President Trump had very strongly pushed for secure supply chains and India had emerged as an important partner in that and that has continued and will continue this time too. And finally, in that statement, you will see that there is recognition of the role which the Indian companies are playing in the US that they are investing almost USD 8 billion and creating high-quality jobs," the former Ambassador added.
During a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity, emphasizing that the US will match tariffs imposed by other countries to ensure fair trade.
Trump said, "We are, right now, a reciprocal nation. We are going to, if it's India or if it's somebody else with low tariffs, we're going to have the same. We're going to have whatever India charges, we're charging them. Whatever another country charges, we're charging them."
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