Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday categorically stated that India “will not compromise” and “is ready to pay the price for the same.”
United States President Donald Trump ruled out the possibility of trade negotiations with India unless the tariff dispute is resolved. Trump’s remark comes ahead of the US team’s scheduled visit to India for later this month.
Trump was asked, “Just to follow up on India’s tariff, do you expect increased trade negotiations since you have announced the 50% tariffs?”. On this, the US President told ANI, “No, not until we get it resolved.
India and the US have been negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) since March this year. The two sides have, so far, held five rounds of talks, and for the sixth round, a US is scheduled to visit India from August 25.
The Trump administration has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods entering the US. On July 31, Trump signed an Executive Order titled ‘Further Modifying The Reciprocal Tariff Rates’, imposing a 25 per cent tariff on India. Later, he announced an additional 25 per cent tariff, raising it to 50 per cent.
Notably, after the new levy, India will attract the highest tariff of 50 per cent along with Brazil. The US claimed that the tariff was a ‘penalty’ for New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
In a strong response, New Delhi called out the Trump administration for singling out India, despite the fact that several countries, including China, Turkey, the European Union, and the US itself, engage in trade with Russia. India said that the actions are “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”
As far as the trade negotiations are concerned, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday categorically stated that India “will not compromise” and “is ready to pay the price for the same.”
“For us, the interest of our farmers is our top priority. India will never compromise on the interests of farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers. I know we will have to pay a heavy price for it. Today, India is ready for the country’s farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers…” PM Modi said at an event.
