President Donald Trump Claims to Impose Reciprocal Tariffs on China and India

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will soon impose reciprocal tariffs on countries such as India and China, asserting that the US will charge the same tariffs as these countries impose on American goods.

Trump stated, "We will soon impose reciprocal tariffs—they charge us, we charge them. Whatever a company or country, such as India or China, charges, we want to be fair, and thus reciprocal."

He added, "We've never done that. We were preparing to do it when Covid struck."

Trump commented on India's tariff structure last week, prior to his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "they have the highest tariffs" and "it is a hard place to do business".

Trump made the remarks during a press conference, where he was asked about Tesla CEO Elon Musk's meeting with Prime Minister Modi.

"They met. I assume he intends to do business in India. However, due to tariffs, doing business in India is extremely difficult. They charge the highest tariffs... It's a difficult place to do business. I'd imagine he met because he runs a business and is doing something he's been passionate about for a long time," Trump said.

Speaking about reciprocal tariffs, Trump cited India's past trade policies, citing the case of Harley-Davidson motorcycles as an example of how American companies have been forced to establish manufacturing units abroad to avoid exorbitant import duties.

"India has traditionally ranked near the top of the pack. There are a few smaller countries that are actually more, but India has exorbitant tariffs. I remember when Harley Davidson couldn't sell their motorcycles in India because the tax was so high, the tariff was so high, and Harley was forced to build," he told US Network Pool.