‘You’re A Friend But You’re Not Treating Us Right,’ Trump Tells Modi As US Hits India With 26% Tariff

United States President Donald Trump recently admitted that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a "great friend". However, he added, "You're a friend of mine, but you're not treating us right."

US imposes 26% tariff on India

While announcing a 26% tariff on Indian imports, Trump claimed it to be a "discounted reciprocal tariff" to counter India's high duties on American goods.

"India, very, very tough. Very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left. He's a great friend of mine, but I said, 'You're a friend of mine, but you're not treating us right.' They charge us 52 per cent. You have to understand, we charge them almost nothing, for years and years and decades," Trump shared, holding a chart listing countries and their tariff rates.

He further explained that the US had long tolerated unfavourable trade terms and had only started imposing tariffs on China after he took office seven years ago.

"It was only seven years ago, when I came in, we started with China and we took in hundreds of billions of dollars from China in tariffs," he remarked.

The announcement comes just weeks after PM Modi visited Washington, D.C., in February, less than a month after President Trump began his second term in the White House.

Trade tensions between the US and India have been a longstanding issue, with Trump previously calling India the "tariff king" and a "big abuser" in global trade.

On February 13, during a joint press conference with PM Modi at the White House, Trump said, "India has been very strong on tariffs. I don't blame them, necessarily, but it's a different way of doing business. It's very hard to sell into India because they have trade barriers, very strong tariffs."

Trump estimated the US trade deficit with India to be nearly $100 billion and added that the Indian Prime Minister had agreed to start negotiations to correct "long-running disparities that should have been taken care of over the last four years – but they didn't do that."

He claimed that both sides would work toward "a level playing field, which we really think we're entitled to, and he does also, in fairness, so we're going to work on that very hard."

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