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'Modi not happy with me': Trump's fresh remark amid 50% tariffs on India
Trump on Tuesday said that he has good relationship with PM Modi who is not that happy with him because of steep tariffs.
The issue of steep US tariffs on Indian goods has once again hogged the headlines over the past few days with US President Donald Trump making range of remarks-- from fresh warning of steeper tariffs to implying his good ties with India and its willingness to reduce trade with Russia in order to avoid tariffs from the US.
Trump's latest remark over the India-US trade row came on Tuesday when he said, “I have a very good relationship with him (PM Modi). He’s not that happy with me because they’re paying a lot of tariffs now. But now they have reduced it very substantially, buying oil from Russia."
He made the remarks reportedly at a House GOP Member Retreat in Washington DC on Tuesday.
The US has imposed staggering tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods over India’s significant purchases of Russian oil — a move Washington views as indirectly supporting Russia’s economy amid the Ukraine conflict.
Trump’s tariff remarks followed his claim that India had reached out to him over delays in the delivery of Apache helicopters. Recalling his conversation with Prime Minister Modi, Trump said, “Prime Minister Modi came to see me — ‘Sir, may I see you please?’ Yes.”
“We're changing it. We're changing it. India ordered 68 Apaches,” he said.
Listen to Trump's fresh remarks amid India-US trade row
‘Warning’ of another round of tariffs
Earlier, Trump warned that Washington could further raise tariffs on Indian goods if New Delhi does not address US concerns over Russian oil imports.
“Modi is a very good guy and he knew I was not happy. And it was important to make me happy. They do trade and we could raise tariffs on them very quickly,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday (local time).
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Trump spoke in response to Senator Graham, who credited Trump’s 25% tariff penalty on India as a key reason for declining purchases of Russian energy. Graham also claimed that India’s envoy to Washington had informed him that India was purchasing less Russian oil.
“I was at the Indian Ambassador’s house about a month ago and all he wanted to talk about is how they’re buying less Russian oil. Would you tell the president to relieve the tariff?,” said Graham, quoting private conversations with Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra, HT reported.
Graham, one of the most vocal advocates on steeper tariffs on nations that import Russian oil, is pushing for up to 500% taxes on nations that continue to purchase Russian oil.
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"If you are buying cheap Russian oil, you keep Putin's war machine going," he said, adding that “we are trying to give the President the ability to make that a hard choice by tariffs.”
In his speech, Trump defended the larger tariff regime, arguing that the measures were financially advantageous to the United States. "We are getting rich because of the tariffs. I hope everyone understands that," Trump said.
India's purchase of Russian oil
Even as Indian oil purchases from Russia rose to $3.72 billion by value in the month of November, according to data provided by the Indian Commerce Ministry’s Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, the same declined in December, as per analytics firm Kpler.
At the same time, Indian oil purchases from the United States rose in value to $1.44 billion in November. The increases come as part of an earlier Indian commitment to raise energy purchases from the US from $15 billion to $25 billion. In November, Indian public sector oil companies signed a one-year deal with US energy majors for the import of 2.2 million tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, which accounts for roughly 10% of India’s total LPG imports.
With inputs from Shashank Mattoo
