Tariffs on India led to ‘worst outcome' for US, says former Trump aide
He said the move has backfired, straining ties with India while sparing China, and weakening a key US goal. Bolton pointed to the hefty tariffs on New Delhi for buying Russian oil and accused Trump of favouring China over India, calling it a potentially 'enormous mistake.'
Trump engaged in a brief trade war with China in April but has since avoided further escalation, pending a deal, while hitting India with tariffs exceeding 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent secondary tariff for what he claimed was funding Russia's war in Ukraine.
Speaking to CNN, Bolton said it was ironic that the secondary tariff, intended to hurt Russia, could instead push India closer to Russia and China, and perhaps lead them to negotiate together against the US.
'Trump's leniency on the Chinese and heavy-handed tariffs on India jeopardize decades of American efforts to bring India away from Russia and China,' he said.
In an Op-Ed for The Hill, Bolton said Trump's softer stance towards Beijing could be seen as sacrificing US strategic interests in his 'zeal for a deal' with President Xi Jinping.
'The White House seems headed toward more lenient treatment for Beijing on tariff rates and other metrics than it imposed on New Delhi. If so, it will be a potentially enormous mistake,' he wrote.
Trump's additional tariff has so far failed to persuade India to stop buying Russian oil. Instead, India has defended its imports as 'unfair and unreasonable.'
Moscow has backed New Delhi and accused Washington of exerting illegal trade pressure, just a week before Trump is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The meeting, Bolton said, would give Putin an opportunity to advance his agenda and possibly use the India tariffs as part of a larger strategy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
10 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Is he worthy of lunch with Trump': Congress slams Pak Army chief Asim Munir's nuclear threat from US
Congress on Monday slammed Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir's nuclear threat against India, those who do not support India on 'Operation Sindoor' should also wake up. File photo: Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Asim Munir holds a microphone during his visit at the Tilla Field Firing Ranges (TFFR)(REUTERS) Pakistani military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, made a threat from the United States, saying that Islamabad would take down "half the world" with it, if his country faces an existential threat in future with India. 'We are a nuclear nation, if we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us,' reports quoted Asim Munir as saying at the event in Tampa. 'Direct threat to Trump', says Congress Backing Operation Sindoor and the Indian and the Indian Army, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said on Asim Munir's statement, 'We are very proud of our Indian army. Pakistan has been exposed. Now the whole world knows what intention Pakistan have. So the world should wake up. Those who do not support India on 'Operation Sindoor' should also wake up.' "We are confident that we will protect India, but this is a direct threat to Trump and Russia. Is the person who has threatened to destroy half the world worthy of sitting and eating lunch with you? Are you entertaining him? This is a dangerous statement. The United Nations Security Council should take cognisance of this," Tiwari said, speaking to ANI news agency. Another Congress MP, Sukhdeo Bhagat, said India knows its power, its limitations, and how to respond, adding that Munir's statement also threatens Donald Trump. "The clouds that thunder do not rain. India knows its power, its limitations, and how to respond. The way he (Asim Munir) is making all these statements while in America also threatens Trump. Speaking such violent words, and with Trump currently trying to portray himself as a peace messenger, raises the question of what Trump will say. Therefore, Trump should consider these things. India does not need to worry about them. India is capable of giving answers...," Sukhdeo Bhagat said. Addressing the Pakistani diaspora in Florida's Tampa, Asim Munir also repeated is anti-India rhetoric, saying "Kashmir is the jugular vein" of Pakistan". Weeks before the April 22 Pahalgam attack, Munir said Pakistan will not forget the issue of Kashmir, asserting, "It was our jugular vein." Trashing his comments, India had said, "How can anything foreign be in a jugular vein? This is a union territory of India. Its only relationship with Pakistan is the vacation of illegally occupied territories by that country."
The Hindu
10 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Intel CEO to visit White House on Monday: Report
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is set to visit the White House on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump called for his removal last week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Intel and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tan is expected to have a extensive conversation with Trump while looking to explain his personal and professional background, the report said, adding that he could propose ways Intel and the U.S. government could work together, the report added. Tan hopes to win Trump's approval by showing his commitment to the U.S. and guaranteeing the importance of keeping Intel's manufacturing capabilities as a national security issue, the report added. Last week, Trump demanded the immediate resignation of Tan, calling him "highly conflicted" due to his ties to Chinese firms and raising doubts about plans to turn around the struggling American chip icon. Tan said he shared the president's commitment to advancing U.S. national and economic security.
Mint
10 minutes ago
- Mint
Nvidia, AMD agree to pay 15% of Chinese AI chip revenues to US for export licenses
(Bloomberg) -- Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. agreed to pay 15% of their revenues from Chinese AI chip sales to the US government in a deal to secure export licenses, an unusual arrangement that may unnerve both US companies and Beijing. Nvidia plans to share 15% of the revenue from sales of its H20 AI accelerator in China, according to a person familiar with the matter. AMD will deliver the same share from MI308 revenues, the person added, asking for anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The arrangement reflects US President Donald Trump's consistent effort to engineer a financial payout for America in return for concessions on trade. His administration has shown a willingness to relax trade conditions like tariffs in return for giant investment in the US — as with Apple Inc.'s pledge to spend $600 billion on domestic manufacturing. But such a narrow, select export tax has little precedent in modern corporate history. Beijing, which has grown increasingly hostile to the idea of Chinese firms deploying the H20, is unlikely to warm to the idea of a chip tax. Yuyuantantian, a social media account affiliated with state-run China Central Television that regularly signals Beijing's thinking about trade, on Sunday slammed the chip's supposed security vulnerabilities and inefficiency. 'This seeming quid pro quo is unprecedented from an export control perspective. The arrangement risks invalidating the national security rationale for U.S. export controls,' said Jacob Feldgoise, a researcher at the DC-based Center for Security and Emerging Technology. It 'will likely undermine the US' position when negotiating with allies to implement complementary controls,' he added. 'Allies may not believe U.S. policymakers if they are willing to trade away those same national security concerns for economic concessions — either from U.S. companies or foreign governments.' An Nvidia spokesperson said the company follows US export rules, adding that while it hasn't shipped H20 chips to China for months, it hopes the rules will allow US companies to compete in China. AMD didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The Financial Times earlier reported the development. It followed a separate report from the same outlet that the Commerce Department had begun issuing H20 licenses last week, days after Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang met with Trump. Huang has lobbied long and hard for the lifting of restrictions, arguing that walling China off will only slow the spread of American technology and encourage local rivals such as Huawei Technologies Co. 'It's a strategic bargaining chip' that tightens Washington's grip on a critical tech sphere during trade negotiations with China, said Hebe Chen, an analyst with Vantage Markets in Melbourne. 'Over time, this hurdle for chips entering China will likely deter Nvidia and AMD from deeper expansion in the world's largest chip-importing market, while giving local Chinese producers a clear edge to capture market share and accelerate domestic semiconductor innovation.' If Washington goes ahead with the tax, it should funnel some capital to the US — but not an enormous amount in relative terms. Both Nvidia and AMD have said it'll take time to ramp back up production of their China-specific products — even if order levels return to previous levels, which is uncertain. Nvidia raked in $4.6 billion of revenue from the H20 in the fiscal quarter ended April 27 — days after new restrictions on shipping the AI accelerator to China were imposed. It also said it had been unable to ship $2.5 billion of H20 China revenue in that period because of the new rules. That implies it would have got more than $7 billion in H20 sales to China during the period. If it can return to that level, the US government will stand to get about a billion dollars a quarter from its deal. AMD could generate $3 billion to $5 billion of 2025 revenue if restrictions were lifted, Morgan Stanley estimates. Chinese alternatives such as Huawei's Ascend chips now account for 20% to 30% of domestic demand, it reckoned. 'The US government clearly needs the money given its deficits and eagerness to collect tariffs,' said Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privee in Singapore. 'But the complication is China's accusations about H20 chips containing backdoors, which could be a negotiation tactic to highlight that the country is not 'hard up' for US chips.'
