'Enormous mistake': What Trump's former NSA John Bolton said on India tariff

President Donald Trump's former NSA John Bolton said Trump favoring China over India on trade is an enormous mistake and entirely counterproductive for America. In an opinion piece for The Hill, Bolton said the tariffs do not fit into America's grand geopolitical strategy as the US is levying tariffs on friend and foe alike. "Unfortunately, based on international reactions so far, the U.S. by levying tariffs on friend and foe alike has likely suffered a considerable loss of trust and confidence, built up over decades of effort, in exchange for minimal economic gains — if any — and the risk of formidable losses," Bolton wrote.

"The White House seems headed toward more-lenient treatment for Beijing on tariff rates and other metrics than it imposed on New Delhi. If so, it will be a potentially enormous mistake. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested that China’s Aug. 12 deadline could be extended if negotiations looked promising," he wrote.

"Trump announced on July 30 that India’s tariff rate would be 26 percent, 1 point lower than originally proposed on Apr. 2, but a major increase from the previous average rate of 2.4 percent. Moreover, Trump harshly criticized India’s acquisition of Russian military equipment, underlining a longstanding U.S.-India disagreement, and Indian purchases of Russian oil and gas in violation of America’s Ukraine-related sanctions. (India is also one of the BRICS countries, which Trump separately singled out for a 10 percent tariff.)" he wrote.

If China snags a better agreement, the anger could grow exponentially, the former ambassador said. "China runs a significantly larger trade surplus with the U.S. than does India. Washington has also long complained about Chinese trade practices, which include stealing intellectual property, unfairly subsidizing its international companies and denying access to China’s domestic market, contrary to repeated commitments," he added.

Bolton also pointed out that both Pakistan and Bangladesh scored lower tariff rates from Trump. "Instead of advancing cooperation within the Asian Security Quad (India, Japan, Australia and America), Trump could well push India into closer economic and political ties with Russia and China. Beijing would see Trump’s trade concessions as expressions of fundamental American weakness and dependence on trade with China. At least Secretary Bessent did make clear after the last round of U.S.-China talks that China also risked heavy tariffs due to its purchases of Russian (and Iranian) oil and gas," he wrote.