US President Trump announces 25 per cent tariff on India from Aug 1
Washington, Jul 30 (PTI): US President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on India from Aug 1, amid signs of some stalemate in the ongoing negotiations between the two countries on a bilateral trade deal.
Trump, announcing the tariff, listed India's high tariffs, its procurement of "vast majority" of military equipment and energy from Russia as well as "obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers".
India will be paying a "tariff of 25 per cent plus a penalty" from August 1, he said, adding "we have a massive trade deficit with India".
The US president, in a social media post, however, described India as a "friend". While India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the "highest" in the world, and they have the "most strenuous and obnoxious" non-monetary trade barriers, he said.
Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of energy along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine, he said.
"All things not good! India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25 per cent plus a penalty for the above starting on August 1," the US president said.
There is no immediate reaction from India on Trump's announcement.
A team from the US is scheduled to visit India next month for the next round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement.
India and the US teams concluded the fifth round of talks for the agreement last week in Washington.
India's chief negotiator and special secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal and Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch held the deliberations.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
