Donald Trump, the US President on Saturday alleged that India is a very high-tariff nation. Trump said that he would like a reciprocal tax to combat this. Trump stated that India’s tariff has made them pay a bit sum for imports. This was mentioned in his address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the Maryland suburb of Washington DC.
His speech lasted for more than two hours. Trump spoke of the issues of the hour such domestic, global and bilateral relationship with countries like India. Referring to his often-cited example of the iconic Harley-Davidson motorcycles, he said, “When we send a motorcycle to India, it’s a hundred per cent tariff. They charge 100 per cent when India sends a motorcycle to us, we brilliantly charge them nothing. So, I want a reciprocal tax or at least, I want to charge a tax. It’s called the mirror tax, but it’s reciprocal,” Trump stated.
At the beginning of the year Trump pledged his support for the for reciprocal tax, Trump had mentioned that he was happy with India’s decision to reduce the import tariff on Harley-Davidson motorcycles from 100 per cent to 50 per cent. However, he still didn’t feel it was enough.
“Look at motorcycles as an example. (In) India, it was 100 per cent. I got them down to 50 per cent, just by talking for about two minutes. It’s still 50 per cent vs 2.4 per cent (on imported motorcycles to the US). Again, other than that, it’s a very fair deal,” the President said at a press conference at the White House on January 24. Trump clarified that he used the Indian example as even other countries were imposing higher taxes on American products and now it was time for the US to impose a reciprocal tax.
“But India is a very high-tariff nation. And they charge tremendously. So they charge a hundred. So I say, I’m not going to charge you a hundred, but I’m going to charge 25 per cent, and I hear this turmoil in the Senate because we are charging 25 per cent,”Trump said, stressing that there was resistance to his move from the Senate. “I say, fellows, listen, they are charging us a hundred per cent. For the exact same product, I want to charge them 25 per cent. I feel so foolish charging 25, because it should be a hundred. But I’m doing 25 only because of you. I want to get your support,” he said.
Thereafter, Trump ridiculed lawmakers who disagreed this reciprocal tax on grounds of free trade. Trump said the US would not allow a country to charge it 100 per cent while it got nothing for the exact same product.Trump felt that they have not received the kind of respect they deserve. Trump said that America is now booming like never before, while other countries are doing quite poorly.
The CPAC is an annual political conference attended by conservatives and elected officials from across the country.
