Donald Trump rakes up India tax issue says would impose reciprocal tax if voted to power

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Donald Trump, who is seeking his term, has once again raised the issue of high tax by India on certain American products in particular the iconic Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and has threatened to slap with reciprocal tax if voted to power in the 2024 presidential elections. During his first term as the US president, Trump described India as a «tariff king» and in May 2019, terminated India's preferential market access — Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) — to the United States alleging India has not given the United States «equitable and reasonable access to its markets.» In an interview to Larry Kudlow of Fox Business News, Trump said came down heavily on India tax rates, which he alleged was quite high. «The other thing I want to have is a matching tax where, if India charges us — India is very big with tariffs.

I mean, I saw it with Harley-Davidson. I was saying, how do you do in a place like India? Oh, no good sir. Why? They have 100 per cent and 150 per cent and 200 per cent tariffs,» said the former president.

«So, I said, so they can sell their Indian motorbike. They actually make a bike, an Indian motorbike. They can sell that into our country with no tax, no tariff, but when you make a Harley, when you send it over there — because they were doing no business.

I said, how come you don't do business with India? The tariff is so high that nobody wants it. But what they want us to do is, they want us to go over and build a plant, and then you have no tariff,» Trump said. «They said, well, that's not good.

That's not our deal, OK? That's not our deal. And I came down very hard on them. But India is very big.