The TOI correspondent from Washington: US President Donald Trump hit India with a 26 per cent tax on its exports to America despite making friendly noises about New Delhi and its efforts to buy time and avert punitive tariffs with broad concessions on US imports to India.
At a White House Rose Garden event on Wednesday on what he called "Liberation Day" for the US, India became a middling victim in Trump's take-no-prisoner approach that treated friend and foe alike with a two-tier tariff: a baseline tax of 10% on all countries that will go into effect on April 5, and additional tariffs on some countries that he considers to be the "worst offenders," that will be imposed on April 9.
India, described by Trump as the "tariff king," makes the US President's "worst offender" checklist because, by his calculation, New Delhi taxes US imports to the tune of 52 per cent, a dubious figure arrived at by adding perceived non-monetary, non-tariff barriers, “currency manipulation” etc. China was assessed at 69 per cent, Taiwan at 64 percent, and South Korea at 50 percent.
But out of the kindness of his heart he would impose not a "commonsense reciprocal tariff" but give a 50 percent "discount," Trump said, thus making it 26 percent tariff on imports from India.
Also read: Donald Trump announces reciprocal tariffs: Full list of countries impacted
Similarly, China was slammed with 34 percent, Indonesia 32 percent, Bangladesh 37 per cent, Pakistan 29 percent, Thailand 36 percent and so on. Even close allies were not spared -- Japan copped 24 percent, EU 20 percent, UK and Australia 10 percent, Israel 17 percent -- ignoring its late call on Tuesday to scrap all import duty. Nor were the poorest nations on the planet spared: 50 per cent on goods from Lesotho, 47 per cent on Madagascar (which exports a ton of vanilla), 18 percent on Zimbabwe, right down to Haiti and Gabon.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far – both friend and foe alike. Foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream,” President of the richest country on earth raged in remarks that were borderline offensive and distasteful.
At a White House Rose Garden event on Wednesday on what he called "Liberation Day" for the US, India became a middling victim in Trump's take-no-prisoner approach that treated friend and foe alike with a two-tier tariff: a baseline tax of 10% on all countries that will go into effect on April 5, and additional tariffs on some countries that he considers to be the "worst offenders," that will be imposed on April 9.
India, described by Trump as the "tariff king," makes the US President's "worst offender" checklist because, by his calculation, New Delhi taxes US imports to the tune of 52 per cent, a dubious figure arrived at by adding perceived non-monetary, non-tariff barriers, “currency manipulation” etc. China was assessed at 69 per cent, Taiwan at 64 percent, and South Korea at 50 percent.
But out of the kindness of his heart he would impose not a "commonsense reciprocal tariff" but give a 50 percent "discount," Trump said, thus making it 26 percent tariff on imports from India.
Also read: Donald Trump announces reciprocal tariffs: Full list of countries impacted
Similarly, China was slammed with 34 percent, Indonesia 32 percent, Bangladesh 37 per cent, Pakistan 29 percent, Thailand 36 percent and so on. Even close allies were not spared -- Japan copped 24 percent, EU 20 percent, UK and Australia 10 percent, Israel 17 percent -- ignoring its late call on Tuesday to scrap all import duty. Nor were the poorest nations on the planet spared: 50 per cent on goods from Lesotho, 47 per cent on Madagascar (which exports a ton of vanilla), 18 percent on Zimbabwe, right down to Haiti and Gabon.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far – both friend and foe alike. Foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream,” President of the richest country on earth raged in remarks that were borderline offensive and distasteful.
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