US President Donald Trump has claimed that the United States is close to finalising a trade agreement with India. He also reiterated that he personally intervened to prevent a military conflict between India and Pakistan by threatening both nations with steep tariffs.
Speaking at a luncheon for APEC CEOs, Trump said that the India and US share a strong relationship and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “If you look at India and Pakistan — so I’m doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love for Prime Minister Modi. We have a great relationship,” Trump said.
During his address, Trump revisited what he called his efforts to defuse tensions between the two south Asian neighbours. “I called Prime Minister Modi and said, ‘We can’t move forward with a trade deal — you’re starting a war with Pakistan.’ And then I called Pakistan,” he said. He went on to claim that he threatened to impose 250 per cent tariffs on both countries if they continued hostilities. “That’s a nice way of saying we don’t want to do business with you,” he added.
Trump asserted that his intervention and tariff threats stopped the situation from spiralling into war. “They both backed down,” he claimed, adding that he viewed the outcome as proof of his diplomatic leverage.
However, India has consistently rejected such assertions, maintaining that the United States played no role in de-escalating tensions with Pakistan. According to New Delhi, the decision to cease hostilities was made following a direct request from the Pakistani Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) to his Indian counterpart — without any third-party mediation.
Trade relations between Washington and New Delhi have experienced turbulence in recent months. The US administration has imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on select Indian imports, citing India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, which Washington argues indirectly supports Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Combined with earlier duties, Indian exports to the US are now subject to tariffs of up to 50 per cent.
