Trump tariffs: ‘India, very very tough. PM Modi is friend of mine, but...’ THIS is what Donald Trump said in his speech

Trump tariffs speech: US President Donald Trump announced a barrage of Trump tariffs on almost all countries of the world, and unveiled a 26 per cent ‘discounted’ reciprocal tariff on India as he spoke from the White House on Wednesday.

Speaking at the “Make America Wealthy Again” event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Trump said that the levies imposed by the US are not reciprocal in nature but partial.

India ‘very, very tough’, says Donald Trump

Speaking about India, Donald Trump highlighted that New Delhi was ‘very, very tough’, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a great friend of his.

“India, very, very tough. Very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left. He's a great friend of mine, but I said, ‘You are a friend of mine, but you are not treating us right,’” he said.

He revealed that India charges 52 per cent tariffs on US.

“They charge us 52 per cent. You have to understand, we charge them almost nothing for years and years and decades, and it was only seven years ago, when I came in, that we started with China,” he said.

The White House later released a chart where it was revealed that the US will now charge 26 per cent Trump tariffs on India, half of what the President said New Delhi charged Washington DC.

What Donald Trump said at White House

Speaking at the event, trump said April 2 will be a historic day for Americans.

“This is Liberation Day, a long-awaited moment. 2nd April 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again. We are going to make it wealthy, good, and wealthy,” he said.

“It's our declaration of independence,” he added.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that those penalties will take effect on April 9 and will apply to about 60 countries in all.

Trump said he would impose a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher duties on dozens of the country's biggest trading partners.

The baseline 10 per cent tariff will take effect on Saturday, the White House official said.

Trump on auto tariffs

During his speech on Trump tariffs, the President also highlighted the disparity in motorcycle tariffs.

“The United States charges other countries only a 2.4 per cent tariff on motorcycles. Meanwhile, Thailand and others are charging much higher rates, like 60 per cent. India charges 70 per cent, Vietnam charges 75 per cent, and others charge even higher rate,” he said.

Trump has already imposed 20 per cent duties on all imports from China and 25 per cent duties on steel and aluminium and extended them to nearly $150 billion worth of downstream products.