India-US trade deal: Trump says going to have a deal with India; claims threatened ‘250% tariffs’ during Indo-Pak conflict

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that Washington could soon reach a trade agreement with India, emphasising that the two countries have strong bilateral ties.“If you look at India and Pakistan, so I’m doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love. As you know, for Prime Minister Modi, we have a great relationship,” Trump said while speaking at a luncheon for APEC CEOs.Addressing business leaders, Trump revisited events from earlier this year and claimed he intervened to halt escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. According to him, his refusal to move ahead with a trade agreement and the threat of punitive tariffs, prevented what he described as a looming conflict.“And I called Prime Minister Modi. I said, we can’t make a trade deal with you. No, no, we must make a trade deal. I said, no, we can’t. You’re starting a war with Pakistan. We’re not going to do it. And then I called Pakistan.”He went on to elaborate that he warned both nations of severe economic consequences if they continued hostilities.“And to be warned for the tariffs, I said I was going to put 250% tariffs on each country, which means that you’ll never do business. In other words, there’s nothing you can sell for 250%.”He further added, “That means that’s a nice way of saying we don’t want to do business with you. You don’t have to say that because that’s a nasty we don’t want to do business. You say, we’re going to put two hundred and fifty percent tariffs if you don’t stop the war.”Trump has repeatedly claimed that his intervention prevented the war, claiming the threat of refusing trade deals forced India and Pakistan to step back.India, however, has maintained that the United States had no involvement in de-escalation efforts. According to New Delhi, the decision to cease hostilities was taken after a request from the Pakistani DGMO to his Indian counterpart.Trade relations between the US and India have been under strain in recent months. Washington imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods in response to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, arguing that the imports were “helping to power Russia’s war machine.” Now, Indian imports to the US market are now subject to a 50% tariff.Earlier this week, EAM S Jaishankar also had a meeting with US secretary of state Marco Rubio in Kuala Lumpur to discuss international relations and ongoing trade negotiations between their nations.