Trump tariffs: Country of 1.4 billion won’t buy US corn, says Howard Lutnick; warns India will face ‘tough time’
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has defended Donald Trump's tariffs on India, criticising the country for not purchasing American corn despite its large population. He also warned that India would have a “tough time” selling to the US.
AMID see-sawing trade negotiation outlook between India and the United States, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has again defended Donald Trump's tariffs against India and criticised the country for “taking advantage” of the US.
Speaking at a press conference on September 13 (US local time), Lutnick criticised India for not buying American corn, despite a large population, when asked whether the US was mismanaging “very valuable relationships” with “important allies” such as Brazil, China and India.
Answering the question of US trade policy and tariffs imposition, Lutnick said, “India brags about having 1.4 billion people but won’t buy even a small amount of American corn. Why won't 1.4 billion people buy one bushel of US corn? Doesn't that rub you the wrong way that they sell everything to us and they won't buy our corn. They put tariffs on everything.”
He added that New Delhi must bring down its tariffs or face a “tough time” doing business with the US.
“The relationship is one way, they sell to us and take advantage of us. They block us from their economy, and they sell to us while we are wide open for them to come in (and) take advantage. The president says, ‘fair and reciprocal trade’,” he added.
Defending Donald Trump's tariffs, he said India has been told to “bring down your tariffs, treat us the way we treat you”, adding that the US has “got to right years of wrong so we want a tariff going the other way until we fix this”.
“That's the president's model, and you either accept it or you're going to have a tough time doing business with the world's greatest consumer,” he added.
US tariff rates on India among highest
The Trump administration has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, including 25 per cent for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, among the highest imposed on any country in the world.
India has described the US action as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.
