India has said it will reduce tariffs on US goods to zero, says Trump
02-Sep-2025.
Donald Trump on September 1 said that India has offered to reduce its tariffs on U.S. goods to zero, even 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", while calling the U.S. relationship with India "one sided".
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 U.S.-India relationship.
Trump's remark came at when Modi was attending a summit in China 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.
In a direct challenge to the U.S at the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed his vision for a new global security and economic order that prioritizes the "Global South".
The U.S.-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 an image designed to convey solidarity, Putin and Modi were shown holding hands as they walked jovially toward Xi before the summit opened, in China. The three men stood shoulder-to-shoulder, laughing and surrounded by interpreters.
Beijing has used the summit to mend ties with New Delhi.
For the first time in seven years Modi has been visiting China and Xi agreed on Sunday their countries are development partners, not rivals, and discussed ways to improve trade.
When asked to comment on meetings in China, the U.S. State Department and White House failed to respond immediately.
