US President Donald Trump defends his 50% tariffs on Indian imports, citing decades of imbalance in trade and pointing to Harley Davidson’s struggles as proof of unfair barriers.
Washington DC, September 3: US President Donald Trump has once again stood firmly by his controversial tariff policy on India, insisting that the business relationship between the two countries has been “totally one-sided” for decades. Just days after justifying the steep 50% tariffs imposed on Indian imports, Trump doubled down at the White House on Tuesday, claiming that while New Delhi and Washington “get along very well,” India’s trade practices left the US at a disadvantage.
“We get along with India very well. But for many years, it was a one-sided relationship,” Trump said in his trademark emphatic tone. “India was charging us tremendous tariffs — the highest in the world. We weren’t charging them, foolishly. So, they sent everything they made into the US, but we couldn’t send anything back because they were charging us 100% tariffs.”
Harley Davidson as the Example of “Unfair Trade”
To drive his point home, Trump cited the American motorcycle giant Harley Davidson. According to him, India’s massive 200% tariff on imported bikes made it nearly impossible for the brand to compete in the Indian market.
“Harley Davidson couldn’t sell in India. They had no choice but to go to India and build a plant there. Only then could they avoid those tariffs,” Trump remarked, highlighting what he sees as India’s protectionist trade approach.
Tariffs as a Magnet for Business
Trump also claimed that his tariff policies were encouraging companies from across the globe — particularly from China, Mexico, and Canada — to set up operations in the US.
“Thousands of companies are now coming into the US. Car makers especially. They want to build here because tariffs protect them, and they want to avoid paying duties. When they build here, there are no tariffs,” he said.
Trump’s Social Media Swipe at India
In a fiery post on Truth Social earlier this week, Trump described Indo-US trade ties as a “totally one-sided disaster.” He argued that India has long benefitted by selling massive volumes of goods to the US, while American businesses struggled to penetrate Indian markets due to high tariffs.
“What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount with us. They sell us massive amounts of goods — we are their biggest client. But we sell them very little, because their tariffs are the highest in the world,” he wrote.
He further criticized India’s reliance on Russian oil and defense imports, claiming that the US has been sidelined. “India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the US. Now they’ve offered to cut tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done it years ago,” Trump added.
Rising Tensions and Economic Uncertainty
New Delhi now finds itself at the heart of a growing economic storm. The US tariffs — initially 50% and further increased by an additional 25% because of India’s purchase of Russian crude oil — are adding fresh uncertainty to an already volatile global trade environment.
For Washington, Trump frames this as a necessary correction of decades of imbalance. For India, however, it raises pressing questions about how to safeguard its economic interests while maintaining its strategic autonomy on the global stage.