‘I Made Peace with Tariffs’: Trump once again asserts he utilised tariffs to resolve India-Pakistan tensions
President Trump explained that the threat to impose steep 0tariffs on both nations had brought the situation swiftly under control
US President Donald Trump once again asserted that he utilised tariffs as a tool to resolve several international conflicts, including the recent tensions between India and Pakistan.
He made the remarks while speaking to reporters during a briefing aboard Air Force One.
“...I settled a few of the wars just based on tariffs. For example, between India and Pakistan, I said, if you guys want to fight a war and you have nuclear weapons. I am going to put big tariffs on you both, like 100 per cent, 150 per cent, and 200 per cent...” the US President said.
Trump explained that the threat to impose steep tariffs on both nations had brought the situation swiftly under control. He reiterated his long-standing claims of brokering peace between India and Pakistan during their conflict in May, insisting the resolution was a direct result of his intervention.
He had previously made similar remarks, such as during an interview on 9 October, explicitly linking the resolution of the conflict to his tariff strategy.
“I said I am putting tariffs. I had that thing settled in 24 hours. If I didn't have tariffs, you could have never settled that war,” he added.
Expanding on this claim, Trump maintained that having the power to use trade measures brought peace worldwide, stating: “I made seven peace deals.”
“Not in all cases but probably at least five of the seven (peace deals) we've done so far were by trade, that we are not going to deal with people who fight and we're going to put tariffs on you,” Trump said.
India-Pakistan tensions
On 21 September, he even suggested that he should be honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize for “ending seven wars,” citing the situations between India and Pakistan and Thailand and Cambodia as examples of his success.
“Think of India and Pakistan. Think of that. And you know how I stopped that -- with trade. They want to trade. And I have great respect for both leaders. But when you take a look at all of these wars that we've stopped,” he added.
India, however, has consistently refuted the US President's claims of mediation. New Delhi maintains its long-held policy that any matter concerning the region, particularly the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, must be addressed bilaterally by India and Pakistan alone.