Trump Opens Up On India-US Ties, Says PM Modi Is Unhappy With Him

Washington: US President Donald Trump has made a significant statement regarding India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump said that his relationship with PM Modi is good, but that PM Modi is currently unhappy with him. According to Trump, this is because India is buying oil from Russia, which is resulting in higher tariffs.

What is Trump’s take on ties with India?

Referring to a meeting, President Trump claimed that PM Modi had personally requested a meeting with him. The US President also discussed defence cooperation, saying that India had been waiting for Apache helicopters for many years. 

"We are changing that. India has ordered 68 Apache helicopters," he said.

Earlier, while speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump had said, "Prime Minister Modi is a very good man. He's a good person. He knows I'm not happy. It's important to make me happy." 

In his earlier statement, Trump had said that while trade exists between India and the US, the US could rapidly increase tariffs on India if it wanted to.

Trump had previously said, "They (India) trade, and we can put tariffs on them very quickly." 

Trump had also previously hinted that additional tariffs could be imposed on India. He had said that PM Modi knows that he is unhappy about India's purchase of Russian oil. Trump has also stated that the US could take strong action against countries that continue to trade with Russia.

What is Trump’s stance regarding India?

Last year, Trump adopted an aggressive stance against India regarding tariffs. He imposed a 25 percent reciprocal tariff on India. In addition, a 25 percent penalty tariff was also imposed for buying Russian oil. This brought the total tariff to 50 percent in some categories. 

This decision led to considerable tension in India-US relations. India clarified at the time that it makes decisions keeping its national interests and energy security in mind. PM Modi and Trump's Phone Call

Trump's recent warnings come just weeks after a phone conversation between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During that call, the two leaders emphasized the importance of continuing to advance bilateral trade and maintaining the momentum of cooperation, despite the existing tariff tensions. This phone call took place on the same day that Indian and US negotiators began a new round of talks to resolve the tariff dispute.

A few days before the phone call, Trump had made sharp remarks regarding Indian rice. During a roundtable meeting at the White House, an American farmer representative accused India, China, and Thailand of dumping. 

Responding to this, Trump questioned Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, "Why is India allowed to do that? They have to pay tariffs. Do they have some kind of exemption on rice?"

When informed that a trade agreement with India was being worked on, Trump said, "But they shouldn't be doing that. We'll get it resolved. Tariffs solve the problem in two minutes."

Currently, talks between India and the US to resolve the tariff dispute are stalled. Washington is putting considerable pressure on India regarding the high import duties it imposes on American agricultural products. The US wants India to open its market further to American farmers. On the other hand, India maintains that it cannot ignore the interests of its own farmers and domestic agriculture.