'Should have done this…': Trump defends tariffs, hints at dividends for middle and lower-income Americans

US President Donald Trump justified the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on more than a dozen countries, saying he should have done this “many years ago”. Speaking to reporters, Trump further said that the United States will have a lot of money coming in and would use the hundreds of billions of dollars to reduce its national debt.

We are going to pay down debt: Trump

“I am not looking for leverage, I am looking for fairness. We want to see reciprocal wherever we can and as much as possible. Sometimes, it would be too much for them to handle. It would be a much bigger number. And all I can say is this-Our country will be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars,” he said.

“We are going to pay down debt. We have a lot of money coming in, much more money than the country’s ever seen, by hundreds of billions of dollars,” Donald Trump told reporters.

Trump hints at dividends for Americans

The President also said that Americans could get some kind of dividend or distribution of money as a result of tariffs being imposed on US trading partners. “There could be a distribution or a dividend to the people of our country, I would say for people that would be middle-income people and lower-income people, we could do a dividend, but one of the things we are gonna be doing is reducing debt,” the US President said.

“But we have hundreds of billions of dollars pouring into our country now, we should’ve done this many years ago.”

“And I did it in my first term with China, we didn’t get to the rest because Covid hit. And couldn’t go to France, Spain, and Italy. But China was paying us hundreds of millions of dollars in tariffs, and we did it then. Then [Joe] Biden screwed it all,” he added.

Trump tariffs

Trump’s latest remarks come amid ongoing global trade negotiations, with the United States having finalised several deals but still in talks with multiple countries, including India.

The US has imposed a 25% tariff on Indian exports, potentially affecting around half of India’s USD 86 billion annual exports to America. However, key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, and petroleum products have remained exempt from these duties.

According to sources cited by PTI, while New Delhi remains engaged in trade discussions with Washington, it has made it clear that there will be no compromise on critical sectors like agriculture, dairy, and genetically modified (GM) products.

A sixth round of negotiations is scheduled, with a US trade delegation expected to arrive in India on August 25.

Meanwhile, other nations have adjusted to Trump’s tariff policies: the UK has agreed to a 10% tariff, up from 1.3%, while the EU and Japan accepted 15% tariffs, which, though higher than last year’s rates, were still lower than the 30% and 25% Trump had originally threatened, respectively.

Also Read: ‘Not acceptable for India to…’: Trump aide accuses New Delhi of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine

Also Read: Baloch leader warns Trump over oil and gas exploration in Balochistan, asserts region’s sovereignty