Trump Says India Offered To Cut Tariffs To 'Nothing', Calls Trading Ties So Far A 'One-Sided Disaster'

US President Donald Trump on Monday said India has offered to slash its import tariffs on American goods to "nothing". The remarks come in the backdrop of a plunge in ties between the two countries, with the US slapping levies as high as 50% on Indian goods.

"What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest 'client', but we sell them very little," Trump said on social media platform Truth Social.

"They have now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it's getting late. They should have done so years ago," he added.

Trump's remarks come amid the uncertainty over the fate of India-US trade talks, with the sixth round of negotiations planned in August-end being called off. The two sides have so far held five rounds of talks, with access to India's agriculture and animal husbandry sectors likely emerging as one of the key sticking points.

Even as the trade deal talks were underway, Trump went ahead to impose so-called reciprocal levies of 25% on India, effective Aug. 7. Days later, he doubled down and slapped another 25% tariff to "penalise" India for its purchase of Russian crude. This takes the cumulative tariff on the country to 50%, which is at par with Brazil and highest amongst all major US trading partners.

'One-Sided Disaster'

"...India has charged us, until now, such high tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India. It has been a totally one sided disaster," Trump alleged, adding that the trade equations between the two countries has stood in this manner for "many decades".

"Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the US," he said. This comes days after he accused India of "profiteering" from the Russia-Ukraine war by sourcing Russian oil at cheaper rates and allowing its refiners to sell the same to the West.

India, last month, had responded to the US' charge by pointing out that Washington "had encouraged" its purchase of Russian crude in the aftermath of the Ukraine conflict, in a bid to stabilise the global energy market.