India under pressure as Trump vows action on tariffs and trade deficit

Experts fear that Indian exporters might have to pay higher duties while exporting pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, and engineering goods

In 2018, as the President of the United States, Donald Trump called India the “tariff king”, citing the high import duties (100 per cent at that time) on Harley Davidson bikes, but also saying the Indian government was ready to reduce it.

 

Six years later, as the US President-elect, Trump took on India once again on the same issue. At a press conference last week, he called the country a “very big abuser” of tariffs and threatened reciprocal measures. “If they tax us, we tax them the same amount… Almost in all cases they are taxing us and we haven’t