Trump Says India Tariffs On American Goods Are ‘No Longer Acceptable’
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to declare that tariffs placed by India on American products are “no longer acceptable.”
The iShares MSCI India ETF dropped more than 1 percent in the premarket following the president’s tweet, but later recovered, CNBC reported.
The Tuesday morning tweet was not the first time Trump turned his anger toward India. Earlier in 2019, the president removed a preferential status given to the nation that exempted billions of dollars from India-made products imported to the United States from U.S. levies, per the CNBC report.
“I have determined that India has not assured the United States that India will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets,” Trump said in a May statement posted on the official White House website.
Trump also tweeted about the tariffs in June, which were raised to higher levels following the White House decision to eliminate India’s preferential status, according to a livemint report.
India has tariffs on U.S. imported products like apples and Harley Davidson Motorcycles, per CNBC. There are tariffs on 28 goods, livemint reported.
The president has taken particular aim with the 50 percent tax placed on the motorcycles, calling them “unacceptable.”
But Trump isn’t always against tariffs, which are taxes countries place on foreign goods. The Trump administration has utilized tariffs, particularly with China.
Experts have said that those tariffs with China could cost him his re-election, according to CNBC. The tariffs have increased the prices of American agricultural goods, causing U.S. producers to lose 74 percent of revenue last year. CNBC reports that the value of soybean exports dropped some $9.1 billion in 2018, from $12.2 billion in 2017 to about $3.1 billion last year.
Trump again blasts India over tariffs, says not acceptable https://t.co/fHoGQhobLR pic.twitter.com/AXlQqS51iu
— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) July 9, 2019
The U.S. has been in a trade war with China since last year.
According to WorldPoliticsReview, the cost of trade with India is relatively small compared to that with U.S. trade with China, leaving some to wonder why the president would poke a trade war with the nation. The same report said India has been inconsistent with whether or not it will bow to U.S. pressure. The country decreased its import of Iranian oil over fear of sanctions from the White House but has so far refused U.S. requests to end a $5 billion deal to purchase a missile defense system from Russia.
Tensions between the two nations seemed to chill after a meeting between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit in Japan last month, per WorldPoliticsReview, though Trump’s tweet Tuesday will certainly raise new questions.
The Republican president, who officially kicked off his re-election campaign last month, is no stranger to making declarative statements on the social media platform. Trump tweeted eight times Tuesday morning on issues from India to food stamps to Brexit.
