US President Donald Trump reportedly got into a verbal altercation with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over tariffs imposed by India on US goods.
In a book titled Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, written by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, Trump was convinced that India’s tariffs on the US were much higher than those recorded by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
Trump was quoted as saying in the book: “Nobody gave me any numbers. Hard facts about how much tariffs China is charging us, how much tariffs India is charging us. You’re giving me bullshit numbers.”
However, when Commerce Secretary Lutnick presented the US President with the tariffs registered at the US Trade Representative’s office, Trump lost his temper and accused his administration of providing him with false data.
“No, those are bullshit numbers,” Trump repeated, calling the government data “ridiculous nonsense,” despite Lutnick’s best attempts to convince the US president.
According to the book, Trump was convinced that Indian tariffs on American goods were at least 175 percent, if not higher. Many US officials, such as Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, have also referred to India as the “tariff maharajah.”
As stated in the Indo-US Interim Bilateral Trade Agreement fact sheet, the White House stated that “India has maintained some of the highest tariffs on the United States of any major global economy, with tariffs averaging 37% on agricultural goods and more than 100% on some automobiles.”
Trump’s “Liberation Day” and the tariff dispute with India
These arguments were made in the run-up to Trump’s “Liberation Day” exercise, where the US President will slap India with 25% tariffs.
A few months later, the US President will announce another increase in tariffs on New Delhi in exchange for its purchase of Russian oil.
In August 2025, Trump accused India of “fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine” due to its purchase of Russian crude, and imposed an additional 25% of tariffs on India, bringing the total to 50%.
With this move, India was among the countries with higher tariffs than the United States, along with BRICS countries Brazil and China.
The increase in tariffs sparked a dispute between Washington and New Delhi, adding to tensions already caused by Operation Sindoor, during which Trump took credit for ending a “potential war” between India and Pakistan.
Moreover, trade negotiations between India and the US have also been hit, with delegation visits cancelled.
India and the United States reach a trade agreement
On February 2, 2026, India and the United States announced that they had reached a framework for a bilateral trade agreement. While few details were announced, one of the key agreements was to reduce tariffs on India and vice versa.
The trade agreement, once implemented, would reduce New Delhi’s tariff to 18 percent.
Meanwhile, based on the White House fact sheet, India will reduce its tariffs on US goods such as “food and agricultural products, including dried distillers grains, red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruits, soybean oil, wines and spirits, and additional products.”
“President Trump agreed to remove the additional 25% tariff on imports from India in recognition of India’s commitment to stop purchasing Russian Federation oil. Accordingly, the President signed an executive order last Friday removing that additional 25% tariff,” the fact sheet added.
While no specific timeline was given for the implementation of the trade deal, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal this week for a final round of discussions on the Indo-US deal.
