US President Donald Trump on Monday called India-US trade “one-sided disaster” and added that India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia. This comes following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that while India exports massive amounts of goods to the United States, the US exports very little in return.
“What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest “client,” but we sell them very little – Until now a totally one sided relationship, and it has been for many decades,” he posted.
“The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high Tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India. It has been a totally one sided disaster! Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the U.S. They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago. Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!” Trump added.
US Tariffs On India
Earlier, in August, US President Trump announced that he had signed an executive order imposing an addtional 25 percent tariff on imports from India, citing the country’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
“Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 per cent,” the order reads.
Also Read: Is Fuelling India’s Fault Lines Trump’s New Tactic To Settle Scores?
PM Modi In China
PM Modi concluded his two-day visit to Tianjin, China, after attending the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO.
During the summit, he held talks with several world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At the SCO meeting, PM Modi underlined India’s approach built on three pillars: Security, Connectivity and Opportunity.
PM Modi stressed the need for collective action against terrorism, greater cooperation on global governance reforms, and more opportunities for start-ups, youth and cultural exchanges within the SCO framework.
PM Modi-Putin Meeting
Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with Russian President Putin on Monday became the top talking point on various Chinese social media platforms.
This happened after Putin waited nearly 10 minutes for PM Modi so that the two leaders could ride together to the venue of their bilateral meeting from the SCO conference site.
(with IANS inputs)