Trump announces reciprocal tariffs against India, China from April 2
New York/Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump criticised the high tariffs charged by India and other countries including China, calling it "very unfair" and announcing reciprocal tariffs will kick in from next month.
In his address to a Joint Session of the US Congress, the president said that the the reciprocal tariffs will commence April 2.
"Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, - Mexico and Canada - Have you heard of them -and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair,” Trump said Tuesday night.
Trump's address to the Joint Session of the Congress on Tuesday was the first of his second term in the White House. On January 20, Trump was sworn-in as the 47th President of the US.
"India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100%," he continued.
In February, President Trump has said that his administration will “soon” impose reciprocal tariffs on countries such as India and China, reiterating what he had said during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US capital last month.
Trump has made it clear to Prime Minister Modi that India will not be spared from Washington's reciprocal tariffs and emphasised that “nobody can argue with me” on tariff structure.
"China's average tariff on our products is twice... and South Korea's average tariff is four times higher. Think of that, four times higher. And we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea. But that's what happens. This is happening by friend and foe. This system is not fair to the United States. It never was,” he said.
Trump added that from April 2, reciprocal tariffs will kick in, and whatever “they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. That's reciprocal back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market.
"They don't even allow us in their market. We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars that create jobs like we have never seen before. I did it with China, and I did it with others, and the Biden administration couldn't do anything about it because there was so much money they couldn't do anything about it.”
“We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on Earth, and we will not let that happen any longer,” Trump said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
PM Modi to flag off Meerut Metro, Namo Bharat train on Feb 22
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will visit Meerut and flag off the Meerut Metro and Namo Bharat train at Shatabdi Nagar Namo Bharat station in the western Uttar Pradesh town.
From there, the prime minister will undertake a metro ride till Meerut South station and at around 1 pm, he will inaugurate and dedicate to the nation various development projects worth around Rs 12,930 crore in Meerut.
Modi will also address the gathering on the occasion, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.
The prime minister will dedicate to the nation the entire 82 Km Delhi–Meerut Namo Bharat corridor. He will inaugurate the remaining sections of India's first Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), which include the 5 km section between Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar in Delhi and the 21 km section between Meerut South and Modipuram in Uttar Pradesh.
ALSO READ: Brahmapur railway station in Odisha to be redeveloped at Rs 93.19cr
With a design speed of 180 km per hour, Namo Bharat is India's first regional rapid transit system. It will connect major urban centres such as Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Modinagar and Meerut with Delhi at a faster pace, the statement said.
The Sarai Kale Khan, the originating station of the corridor, is one of the four Namo Bharat stations to be commissioned with this inauguration.
It is strategically located as a major multi-modal hub, seamlessly connecting Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, Delhi Metro's pink line, Veer Haqeeqat Rai ISBT, and the ring road. The other three Namo Bharat stations, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul and Modipuram, being commissioned are in Meerut.
The prime minister will also inaugurate the Meerut Metro services between Meerut South and Modipuram, operating on the same infrastructure as Namo Bharat, in a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.
The Meerut Metro will be India's fastest metro system with a maximum operational speed of around 120 kmph. The metro will cover the entire stretch in just 30 minutes, with all scheduled stoppages en route.
This seamless integration of Namo Bharat and Meerut Metro on the same infrastructure will ensure high-speed intercity travel and swift intra-city movement, setting a benchmark for integrated urban and regional transit in India. It will decongest road traffic and consequently lead to a significant reduction in vehicular carbon dioxide emissions.
These projects will provide further impetus to the prime minister's vision of transforming urban mobility and ensuring seamless, efficient, modern and sustainable public transport systems that improve ease of living for citizens, the statement said.
