US President Donald Trump on Thursday said India's latest move to increase tariffs on goods imported from the United States is unacceptable and that the nation should rollback the tariff hike.
The comments came ahead of Trump's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, this weekend.
“I look forward to speaking with Prime Minister Modi about the fact that India, for years having put very high Tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the Tariffs even further,” said Trump in a Twitter post.
I look forward to speaking with Prime Minister Modi about the fact that India, for years having put very high Tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the Tariffs even further. This is unacceptable and the Tariffs must be withdrawn!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2019
India had levied additional taxes on 28 US products including almonds, apples and walnuts from June 16 in retaliation to Trump’s decision to remove trade privileges under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for India.
“This is unacceptable and the Tariffs must be withdrawn!” said Trump on Twitter.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who is on a three-day visit to India, sought to reduce the trade tensions, promising a renewed focus on negotiating better ties, but giving few specifics of how they would overcome disputes over trade and investment.
The two nations are "friends who can help each other all around the world," Pompeo told a joint news conference with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar after they met.
First Published: IST