US President Donald Trump on Thursday reiterated his claim of using tariffs as a threat to stop the conflict between India and Pakistan in May.
Taking credit for "stopping eight wars", Trump said, "Of the eight, five-six of them are because of tariffs... India and Pakistan, if you want to fight, that's okay. But you're going to pay tariffs, and they're going to be very substantial."
"We're in the midst of a trade deal, and they said, we don't want to do that. Two days later, they call up and say they're not going to fight anymore. They have peace," he said at the White House.
India has repeatedly denied US mediation in a ceasefire with Pakistan after the success of Operation Sindoor, launched in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Notably, New Delhi and Washington are yet to seal any trade deal to reduce tariff barriers. The US imposed a 50% tariff on India in August, half of which is a penalty for buying Russian crude oil. Negotiations are underway for a trade agreement that will relax import duties between the world's largest and the fifth-largest economy.
On the other hand, Pakistan has nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for its purported involvement in resolving the conflict. Islamabad has followed the Trump narrative on the matter.
The president also said the US is generating vast sums of revenue from tariffs. "We are doing so well as a country right now because of tariffs. Tariffs have been used against us for many decades. That's why we owe $37 trillion... We're a rich country. We're taking in money like we've never done before," he said.
Trump patted himself on the back for signing trade deals with Japan, South Korea and the European Union. "These are countries that were taking so much money away from us, it was not sustainable."
(With inputs from ANI)
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