Trump admits 50% tariffs ’caused rift with India’: ‘Not an easy thing to do’

Donald Trump admitted on Friday that imposing tariffs on India for buying Russian oil soured the relations between India and the US, stating that it “caused a rift” with India.

“Look, India was their biggest customer. I put a 50 per cent tariff on India because they’re buying oil from Russia. That’s not an easy thing to do. That’s a big deal and it causes a rift with India,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Friday.

US-India ties have been strained following Trump’s imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on all Indian goods, with the POTUS and his aide Peter Navarro repeatedly criticising India’s energy ties with Russia.

“But I’ve already done it. I’ve done a lot,” Trump added in his interview.

“And remember this is a Europe problem much more than our problem,” Trump added.

In the interview, Trump also repeated his claim that he has solved seven conflicts so far in his second term as President.

“I solved seven wars. I did so many, including Pakistan and India, but big ones, some were unsolvable, Congo and Rwanda. I solved it. It was going on for 31 years, millions of people killed. I solve wars that was unsolvable,” he said.

Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.