Amid ongoing uncertainty over tariff policies, US President Donald Trump reiterated on ‘The Scott Jennings Radio Show’ that India had offered the United States a “no tariff deal.” He made the remark while defending his decision to impose a 50% levy on Indian goods.

In the telephonic interview, Trump declared that he “understands tariffs better than any human being” and accused several countries of unfair trade practices.

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“China kills us with tariffs, India kills us with tariffs, Brazil kills us with tariffs,” Trump said. “India was the most highly tariffed nation in the world. And you know what? They’ve offered me no tariffs in India anymore, no tariffs. If I didn’t have tariffs, they would never make that offer. So you have to have tariffs.”

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Are Trump tariffs ‘illegal?’

Meanwhile, Trump’s tariff strategy is facing serious legal challenges. A US appeals court recently ruled his sweeping tariffs “illegal,” largely upholding an earlier decision by a federal trade court in New York. The judges said Trump had overstepped his authority by declaring national emergencies to justify levies on nearly every country.

In response, Trump warned that striking down his tariffs would put America’s economy at risk. On Truth Social, he claimed his policy had helped secure more than $15 trillion in promised investment in the U.S.

“If a Radical Left Court is allowed to terminate these tariffs, almost all of this investment, and much more, will be immediately cancelled,” Trump wrote. Removing the duties, he argued, would leave America “a Third World Nation” with no path to “greatness.”.

Trump’s claims regarding tariffs on India

This is not the first time Trump has raised the idea of such a deal. Earlier this week, he criticised the decades-long trade relationship with India, calling it a “one-sided disaster.” According to him, India sold “massive amounts” of goods to the US, while buying very little in return, largely because of what he described as “the highest tariffs of any country.”

“India has now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago,” he wrote on Truth Social, adding that India continues to purchase most of its oil and military equipment from Russia rather than the U.S.