Trump optimist about US-India trade talks 'working out very well', terms Modi 'smart man'
New York/Washington, Mar 29 (PTI): US President Donald Trump has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "very smart man" and a "great friend of mine" while emphasising that tariff talks would "work out very well between India and our country".
The remarks assume significance since Trump has repeatedly criticised the high tariffs charged by India and other countries on American goods.
"Prime Minister Modi was here just recently and we have always been very good friends," the US president said in the White House Friday.
"India is one of the highest tariffing nations in the world.… it's brutal, it's brutal. They're very smart. He (Modi) is a very smart man and a great friend of mine. We had very good talks. I think it's going to work out very well between India and our country, Trump said.
"And I want to say you have a great prime minister," he said.
PM Modi had visited Washington DC in February and held bilateral discussions with Trump. The visit came less than a month after Trump was sworn in as US President for a second term.
Trump had earlier said that India was a very high-tariff nation and reiterated that reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose levies on American goods would kick in on April 2.
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India has agreed already to drop its tariffs to nothing: President Trump
New York/Washington, May 7 (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India has “agreed” to drop its high tariffs “to nothing”.
“I mean, India as an example, has one of the highest tariffs in the world. We’re not going to put up with that, and they’ve agreed already to drop it. They’ll drop it to nothing. They’ve already agreed. They would have never done that for anybody else but me,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to reporters as they met in the Oval Office to discuss the US-Canada trade.
“So we’re going to put down some numbers and we’re going to say our country is open for business and they’re going to come in and they’re going to pay for the privilege of being able to shop in the United States of America. It’s very simple. It’s very simple,” he added.
In the past, Trump has called India “tariff king” and a “big abuser”.
Last month, Trump had said that negotiations with India over a bilateral trade deal are “coming along great” and he thinks “we’ll have a deal with India”.
