Trump says he wants 'reciprocal tax' on India

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday called India a "high tariff nation" and said he wanted to impose a reciprocal tax on imports from New Delhi.

"India is a very high tariff nation. They charge us a lot. When we send a motorcycle to India, it's a 100 percent tariff, they charge 100 percent. When India sends a motorcycle to us, we brilliant charge them nothing," Trump said at the Conservative Political Action Conference. "So I want a reciprocal tax, or at least I want to charge a tax."

Trump has repeatedly called out India for its high tariffs on imported products, and since taking office his administration has taken on New Delhi by restricting H-1B visas, largely granted to Indian technology workers.

Washington is also reportedly weighing a decision of whether to remove India from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a trade program for developing countries which allows Indian goods, of around billions of dollars, to enter the the U.S. duty-free.

When Trump spoke about India's high tariffs, he said that no one in Congress knew about it because "nobody knows what they’re doing in Washington."

In 2017, the trade between the U.S. and India stood at about $126 billion and as of the same year, New Delhi is Washington's 9th largest trading partner.