Trump claims India ready to scrap tariffs on US goods

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday said New Delhi has offered to reduce tariffs on US goods to zero, even as he criticised the long-standing “one-sided” trade relationship between the two countries.

The remarks came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was making public shows of solidarity with Chinese and Russian leaders in the face of trade pressure from Washington.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: "They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago."

The Indian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Trump's comments, which follow the implementation of total duties as high as 50% on Indian goods that have raised questions about the future of the US-India relationship.

Trump's remark came as Modi was in China for a summit of more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a China-backed initiative given renewed impetus by Trump's global tariff offensive.

At the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed his vision for a new global security and economic order that prioritises the "Global South," in a direct challenge to the US.

The US-India relationship has strengthened in recent years, including during Trump's first term, given shared concerns about China's growing power, but Trump threatened the tariffs on India after it refused to stop buying Russian oil in defiance of his efforts to end Moscow's war in Ukraine.

In China, in an image designed to convey solidarity, Putin and Modi were shown holding hands as they walked jovially toward Xi before the summit opened. The three men stood shoulder-to-shoulder, laughing and surrounded by interpreters.

Beijing has used the summit to mend ties with New Delhi. Modi, visiting China for the first time in seven years, and Xi agreed on Sunday their countries are development partners, not rivals, and discussed ways to improve trade.

The US State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the meetings in China.