‘No commitments’; India responds to Trump’s tariff cut claims

India, on Tuesday (Mar 11), denied US President Donald Trump's claims of committing to bring import duties "way down" on the American products, The Times of India reported.

The Centre told a Parliamentary panel on Tuesday that it had made “no commitments to the US on the issue", stated the report.

The government “has sought time until September to address the issue that is being repeatedly flagged by the American president,” it said.

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Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that India and the US are collaboratively developing a bilateral trade agreement, as he appeared before the Parliamentary standing committee on external affairs, it further stated.

The agreement prioritises long-term cooperation over immediate tariff adjustments, aiming for mutual benefits.

The US president, on Friday, said that India agreed to slash tariffs on US goods as finally someone was "exposing them for what they have done".

“India charges us massive tariffs. Massive. You can't even sell anything in India. They have agreed, by the way; they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done,” ANI quoted Trump as saying.

‘Trump has made tariffs household name’: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that Trump has made tariffs a household name across the world.

“Till the mid-1910s tariffs were the main source of revenue for the US government. In 1913, the US Constitution was amended to introduce a federal income tax for the first time,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

“One of the most influential economists who championed and campaigned for the federal income tax was Edwin Seligman, a Professor of Public Finance at Columbia University,” he added.

(With inputs from agencies)