Former U.S. President Donald Trump said America maintains good relations with India but claimed the trade ties had been “one-sided” for years. Speaking at the White House, Trump argued that India charged Washington “tremendous tariffs” while the U.S. market remained open to Indian products.
Trump cited Harley-Davidson as an example of what he called unfair trade. He said India imposed tariffs “among the highest in the world,” while the U.S. allowed Indian goods with minimal barriers. “They would send in massive quantities of everything, but we could not send in anything because of 100% tariffs,” he remarked.
According to Trump, Harley-Davidson faced a 200% import duty in India, forcing the company to set up a local plant to avoid high tariffs. He argued that such trade practices hurt American industries.
Since August 27, Indian exports face a 50% import duty in the U.S. New Delhi has criticized these measures as “unfair and unjustified.” Trump, however, defended his tariff policy and said he would seek an “expedited ruling” from the Supreme Court after a lower court declared many of his tariffs illegal.
The U.S. federal appeals court recently ruled that Trump exceeded his authority by using “national emergencies” as a legal basis for imposing tariffs on multiple nations and trade blocs. The 7–4 judgment allowed tariffs to stay in place until October 14, giving the administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.