US President Donald Trump says India has offered to cut its tariffs to nothing even as he called the current trade stalemate with the country a totally one sided disaster.
US tariffs of 50% on goods from India - which includes 25% penalty for Delhi's refusal to stop buying oil from Russia - took effect last week.
India has not responded to Trump's latest comment but such wars of words over Russian oil have caused Delhi-Washington ties to hit an all-time low.
Trump's comments coincide with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Washington has asserted that Delhi has been indirectly funding Russia's war in Ukraine through its oil purchases. Trump remarked, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the US, and suggested that Delhi should have cut tariffs years ago.
Delhi has previously stated that oil supply from Russia is vital to meet the energy needs of its vast population and labeled the tariffs unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable. Last week, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized that India would neither bow down nor appear weak in economic relations.
Politically, Trump's dismissal of India's trade practices underscores a longstanding concern regarding the imbalance between U.S. exports and Indian imports. He noted, What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. This perspective feeds into the broader narrative of a one-sided economic relationship.
India's economic ties with the U.S. are crucial, yet strained. At the SCO summit, Modi can be seen engaging socially with global leaders including Putin, aimed at solidifying India's position amidst geopolitical challenges.
