Trump says India charges lot of tariff, threatens to impose reciprocal tax

US President-elect Donald Trump once again warned India of imposing reciprocal taxes on the country.

Trump, in the past, described India as "tariff king" and charged New Delhi of charging "high tariffs" on American made products.

At a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, he said, "Reciprocal. If they tax us, we tax them the same amount. They tax us. We tax them. And they tax us. Almost in all cases, they're taxing us, and we haven't been taxing them."

The latest warning comes months after Trump called India a "very big abuser" of tariffs, highlighting the persistent friction in the US-India trade dynamic.

This firm stance emphasizes Trump's broader strategy of ensuring parity in trade deals, a hallmark of Trump's policies during his presidency from 2017 to 2021.

India has often attracted criticism for imposing high tariffs on American imports. In his latest comments, Trump specifically cited India and Brazil as nations with exorbitant tariffs.

Trump remarked that when other countries, like India and Brazil, send a bicycle to the US, they impose high charges, often around 100 to 200. He stated that if they want to impose such high fee, the US would also respond in the same manner and charge the same in return.

This is not the first time that Trump has flagged India's tariffs. Trump has earlier referred to India as "tariff king", citing specific cases like high import duties on Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Subsequently, India reduced the tariffs but Trump remained critical and stated that "India charges a lot."