Tariff On India Partially Due To BRICS And Trade, We’re Still Negotiating And Know By End of This Week: Donald Trump Day After His Tariff Shock

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that negotiations with India on a trade deal are ongoing, with a final decision expected by week's end, as he defended his decision to impose 25% tariffs plus additional penalties on Indian goods.

At a White House press conference, Donald Trump tied the tariffs partly to India's membership in BRICS, calling the bloc an "attack on the dollar."

"BRICS is basically a group of countries that are anti the United States, and India is a member of that... It is an attack on the dollar, and we are not going to let anybody attack the dollar," he said. 

The group includes Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran.

While calling PM Narendra Modi a "friend," Trump criticized India's trade barriers. "They have one of the highest tariffs in the world... We had a tremendous deficit." 

"As you know Prime Minister Modi is a friend of mine, but they don't do very much business in terms of business with us. They sell a lot to us, but we don't buy from them. You know why? Because the tariff is so high. They have one of the highest tariffs in the world. Now, they are willing to cut it very substantially. But we will see what happens. We are talking to India now. We will see what happens. It doesn't matter too much whether we have a deal or we charge them a certain tariff. But you will know at the end of this week,” he said. 

India’s Commerce Ministry acknowledged the tariffs, stating it is assessing implications but remains committed to a "fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial" trade pact. Earlier, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had asserted India would protect its national interests, citing the economy’s rise from 11th to 5th largest globally.

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