‘Pretty much set’: US top negotiator says Trump tariffs are unlikely to change
Trump tariffs: India has been slapped with 25 per cent, Canada with 35 per cent, Brazil with 50 per cent, Taiwan with 20 per cent and Switzerland with 39 per cent.
- Aug 4, 2025,
- Updated Aug 4, 2025 9:34 AM IST
US President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India last week even as the trade talks are underway. Trump’s sudden flip in his treatment of New Delhi comes amid his frustration over the trade talks. Moreover the US administration has pressured India to pause its Russian oil purchases, with one of Trump’s top aides even accusing New Delhi of financing Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated that unlike Trump’s earlier decisions of lowering some of the tariffs initially announced due to new trade talks, the presidential executive order on Friday is unlikely to change. According to that order, India has been slapped with 25 per cent, Canada with 35 per cent, Brazil with 50 per cent, Taiwan with 20 per cent and Switzerland with 39 per cent.
In CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, Greer said, "A lot of these (tariffs) are set rates pursuant to deals. Some of these deals are announced, some are not, others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country. These tariff rates are pretty much set."
However, he sounded optimistic on the trade deal with China, which he said had been “very positive” and focused on the supply of rare earth magnets and minerals. "We're focused on making sure that the flow of magnets from China to the United States and the- and the adjacent supply chain can flow as freely as it did before...and I'd say we're about halfway there."
Even as China and India import nearly the same amounts of Russian oil, as per Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House, the treatment to Beijing and New Delhi have been starkly different. In fact, Washington has delayed the Trump tariff implementation deadline to accommodate the trade talks with Beijing, even as it announced the 25 per cent for India. China, the biggest supplier of rare earths, a subset of critical minerals with wide applications in emerging technologies, appeared to have used its leverage to make the US pay heed to its demands and bring it to the negotiation table – all this as the two nations imposed staggeringly high tariffs on each other, upwards of 100 per cent, merely months ago.
Meanwhile, Trump and its administration has accused India of financing a war, called the Indian economy dead, slapped high tariffs, accused it of cheating in immigration, took a jibe to indicate India could potentially buy oil from Pakistan, and repeated multiple times that he negotiated a ceasefire between New Delhi and Islamabad even as the former rejected his claims. Trump and his administration is frustrated with India, who has resisted opening up its dairy and agriculture sectors, while India is seeking a reduction in the US tariffs.
US President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India last week even as the trade talks are underway. Trump’s sudden flip in his treatment of New Delhi comes amid his frustration over the trade talks. Moreover the US administration has pressured India to pause its Russian oil purchases, with one of Trump’s top aides even accusing New Delhi of financing Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated that unlike Trump’s earlier decisions of lowering some of the tariffs initially announced due to new trade talks, the presidential executive order on Friday is unlikely to change. According to that order, India has been slapped with 25 per cent, Canada with 35 per cent, Brazil with 50 per cent, Taiwan with 20 per cent and Switzerland with 39 per cent.
In CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, Greer said, "A lot of these (tariffs) are set rates pursuant to deals. Some of these deals are announced, some are not, others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country. These tariff rates are pretty much set."
However, he sounded optimistic on the trade deal with China, which he said had been “very positive” and focused on the supply of rare earth magnets and minerals. "We're focused on making sure that the flow of magnets from China to the United States and the- and the adjacent supply chain can flow as freely as it did before...and I'd say we're about halfway there."
Even as China and India import nearly the same amounts of Russian oil, as per Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House, the treatment to Beijing and New Delhi have been starkly different. In fact, Washington has delayed the Trump tariff implementation deadline to accommodate the trade talks with Beijing, even as it announced the 25 per cent for India. China, the biggest supplier of rare earths, a subset of critical minerals with wide applications in emerging technologies, appeared to have used its leverage to make the US pay heed to its demands and bring it to the negotiation table – all this as the two nations imposed staggeringly high tariffs on each other, upwards of 100 per cent, merely months ago.
Meanwhile, Trump and its administration has accused India of financing a war, called the Indian economy dead, slapped high tariffs, accused it of cheating in immigration, took a jibe to indicate India could potentially buy oil from Pakistan, and repeated multiple times that he negotiated a ceasefire between New Delhi and Islamabad even as the former rejected his claims. Trump and his administration is frustrated with India, who has resisted opening up its dairy and agriculture sectors, while India is seeking a reduction in the US tariffs.