NEW DELHI (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said Fox News aired on Tuesday if Tesla sets up a factory in India to circumvent the country’s tariffs In an interview, it would be “unfair”.
Trump called on India for high tariffs on cars during his visit to the U.S. last week, but agreed to work to reach an early trade deal and resolve their stalemate on tariffs.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long criticized India for import tariffs on electric vehicles that protect local automakers such as Tata Motors, for example, Tata Motors The company (Tata Motors) is still in its new state of adoption in the world’s third largest automobile market.
Trump said it was “impossible” for Musk to sell a car in South Asian countries.
“Every country in the world has taken advantage of our strengths, they do it with tariffs… In fact, taking India as an example, it’s actually impossible to sell a car.”
If a carmaker invests at least $500 million and builds a factory, the Indian government introduced a new EV policy in March to reduce import taxes to 15%.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that Tesla has selected locations for two showrooms in the Indian cities of New Delhi and Mumbai and has released ads for 13 middle-level roles in India. It currently does not produce any vehicles in India.
Trump said it would be “unfair” if Musk did decide to build a factory there.
“Now, if he builds a factory in India, that’s OK, but it’s unfair to us. It’s very unfair,” Trump said in an interview.
The Indian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan for each country that taxes U.S. imports raise the risk of a global trade war with U.S. friends and enemies.
(Reports by Tanvi Mehta and Hritam Mukherjee; Editor of Elaine Hardcastle)
