South Africa tour of India 2019
Trump Claims Threat of 250% Tariff Forced India-Pakistan Ceasefire
US President Donald Trump has claimed that it was Washington’s threat to impose a 250 per cent tariff on both India and Pakistan that compelled the two nuclear-armed nations to halt hostilities and agree to a ceasefire. Speaking at a luncheon with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) business leaders in South Korea, Trump asserted that his intervention “saved millions of lives” and brought both sides to the negotiating table.
Recounting the events, Trump said he warned both New Delhi and Islamabad that the US would impose massive trade penalties if they continued fighting. “I called Prime Minister Modi and said, ‘We cannot do a trade deal with you while you’re starting a war with Pakistan.’ Then I called Pakistan and said, ‘We are not doing trade with you because you’re fighting with India,’” he said. According to Trump, both leaders initially resisted, but agreed to cease hostilities after realizing the consequences of the proposed 250 per cent tariffs.
He added humorously, “Prime Minister Modi is the nicest-looking guy — a killer, tough as hell. He said, ‘No, we will fight,’ and I said, ‘Whoa, is this the same man I know?’ But after a while, they called up and said, ‘We will end fighting.’”
Trump described Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir as “great guys,” claiming personal familiarity with both. He also questioned whether former President Joe Biden would have acted similarly, implying that few others would have used such a strategy.
Trump has repeated this version of events several times since May, when he first announced the ceasefire. However, India has consistently rejected any suggestion of third-party mediation, asserting that the ceasefire was reached after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) sought de-escalation directly through established military channels.
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