NEW DELHI, India: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he prevented a war between India and Pakistan this year by threatening both nations with 250 percent tariffs, the highest he has mentioned on any country.
“If you look at India and Pakistan ... they were going at it,” Trump said at the Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea. “Seven planes were shot down. They were really starting to go.”
Trump said he called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s leaders to say that Washington would halt trade and impose the massive tariffs if the fighting that briefly flared up in May continued.
“I said I was going to put 250 percent on each country, which means you’ll never do business ... That’s a nice way of saying we don’t want to do business with you,” Trump said, to applause from the audience, as he referred to trade deals with several Asian countries in a speech.
Trump has previously made similar assertions about warning both countries of a halt in trade during the military strikes — assertions that India has dismissed.
