Trump Says No To Trade Negotiations With India Till Resolution Of Tariff Issue

New Delhi: US president Donald Trump has said there will be no trade negotiations with India until the issue of tariffs is resolved. This came even as China indirectly referred to him as a bully and Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed his desire to visit India.

“No, not until we get it resolved,” Trump told ANI when asked whether he expected talks with India to resume in light of the new 50% tariff.

India and the US have concluded their fifth round of dialogue on the trade agreement in July. A team from the US was to visit India on August 25 for the next round of discussions on a proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two countries.

A 25% tariff on Indian goods being imported to the US became effective from Thursday (August 7). The additional 25% – announced by Trump through an executive order on Wednesday (August 6) – will kick-in after 21 days.

The Trump administration has maintained that imposition of this 50% tariff is due to security and foreign policy concerns, pointing specifically to India’s ongoing imports of Russian oil. The order states that these imports, whether direct or via intermediaries, present an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the US and justify emergency economic measures.

India has called the imposition of tariffs unjustified and unreasonable.

The Chinese ambassador to New Delhi Xu Feihong, on Thursday, reacted to Trump’s decision on an additional 25% tariff against India.

“Give the bully an inch, he will take a mile,” Feihong posted on X, without naming anybody. Incidentally, the US is yet to announce the tariff against Chinese goods though it imports crude from Russia as well.

Feihong also mentioned a recent phone call between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and the chief advisor Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. During this interaction, Yi had apparently said that using tariffs to suppress other nations violates the UN charter and weakens rules or the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Lula also spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and the two countries agreed to enhance cooperation in trade, technology, energy, defence, agriculture, health and people-to-people ties.

Brazil, India and China are all part of BRICS. So is Russia.

In a significant move, PM Modi has decided to visit China on August 31 to participate in the SCO Summit. This could be his first meeting with Chinese premier Xi Jinpeng after 2024.

Meanwhile, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday. He later said that the dates for Putin’s visit to India later this year for the India-Russia Summit has nearly been finalised.

The US is certainly keeping a watch on these developments.

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