Washington: President Donald Trump today
recalled a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the high
import tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, saying India is not doing
the US any "favour" by slashing customs duty to 50 per cent.
Imported
motorcycles from high-end brands, including Harley Davidson and
Triumph, are set to get cheaper in India as the government has slashed
customs duty to 50 per cent.
Earlier, import of motorcycles with engine capacity of
800cc or less used to attract 60 per cent duty, while those
with capacity of 800cc or more attracted 75 per cent duty.
Addressing a gathering of governors of all the states at the White
House, Trump said the US wanted fair and reciprocal trade deals.
"When
they (Harley Davidson) send a motorcycle to India, as an example, they
have to pay 100 per cent tax -- 100 per cent," Trump said.
Referring
to his recent conversation with Prime Minister Modi, he said the
"fantastic man" informed him that India has reduced tariffs on imported
motorcycles, but the US was "getting nothing".
"Now, the prime
minister, who I think is a fantastic man, called me the other day and
said we are lowering it to 50 per cent. I said okay, but so far we're
getting nothing. So we get nothing. He gets 50 (per cent), and they
think we're doing -- like they're doing us a favour. That's not a
favour," he said.
"I wasn't sure -- he said it so beautifully.
He's a beautiful man. And he said, 'I just want to inform you that we
have reduced it to 75, but we have further reduced it to 50'," Trump
said, mocking Prime Minister Modi.
"And I said, huh. What do I
say? Am I supposed to be thrilled? And that's not good for you people,
especially as governors. It's just not right. And we have many deals
like that," he said.
He said the US gets "zero" when it buys an Indian motorcycle.
"So
when they have a motorbike -- a big number, by the way -- they have a
company that does a lot of business. They have a motorcycle or a
motorbike that comes into our country -- the number is zero. We get
zero. They get 100 per cent, brought down to 75; brought down, now, to
50. Okay," Trump said.
"It's a great company. When I spoke with
your chairman or the president of Harley, they weren't even asking for
it because they've been ripped off with trade so long that they were
surprised that I brought it up. I'm the one that's pushing it more than
they are, but it's unfair. And India sells us a lot of motorbikes,"
Trump said.
This is for the second time in a month that Trump raised the issue of high import duties on motorcycles by India.
Earlier, he had called it "unfair" and threatened to increase the tariff on import of Indian motorcycles to the US.
PTI
