US President Donald Trump has praised India’s economic performance, saying the country is “doing very well”, marking a sharp shift from his remarks last year when he described India as a “dead economy” amid trade tensions.Speaking in an interview with CNBC on Thursday ahead of the US Independence Day celebrations, Trump cited India while arguing that strong economic growth should not automatically prompt higher interest rates.“You have a couple of countries, India is one, doing very well, but it’s at 7, 8%,” Trump said, according to the CNBC interview transcript. He contrasted India’s growth with the US, arguing that America’s economy should also be allowed to grow at a much faster pace.
Sharp contrast to last year’s criticism
Trump’s latest comments stand in stark contrast to his remarks in July 2025, when he sharply criticised India over trade and its ties with Russia. Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”At the time, he also announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports and accused India of maintaining “far too high” tariffs and “the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country”.Those comments came after India and the US failed to conclude an interim trade agreement, prompting Washington to impose higher duties while also linking the move to India’s purchases of Russian oil and defence equipment.Trump’s criticism escalated further in August 2025. Soon after his “dead economy” remarks, he signed an executive order on August 6 imposing an additional 25% penalty tariff on India over its continued purchases of Russian crude oil.The measure came on top of a 25% tariff announced days earlier, taking the cumulative US tariff on Indian goods to 50%. The additional duties officially came into effect on August 27, 2025.
Trade deal negotiations gather pace
Trump’s current change in tone comes as New Delhi and Washington move closer to finalising a bilateral trade agreement.Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal recently said the framework for the proposed deal had been finalised, although implementation depends on India securing a tariff advantage over competing exporting nations.The negotiations gained momentum after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France in June. Both countries are now working to conclude an interim trade pact before the temporary US tariff regime expires on July 24.The proposed agreement is expected to deepen cooperation in trade, investment and technology while expanding market access for businesses in both countries.
Trump defends US economic performance
During the CNBC interview, Trump also used India as an example while defending the strength of the US economy and criticising the Federal Reserve’s approach to interest rates.He argued that countries with strong economic growth should not be penalised through tighter monetary policy.“There’s no reason we should stop at 4%. We should be at 12% and 13% GDP,” Trump said.The US President also claimed America was in a “Golden Age”, saying more factories were being built than ever before, employment was at record highs, stock markets had reached fresh highs and Americans’ retirement savings had risen sharply.Trump added that he believed the US economy was performing even better than during his first presidential term, saying, “This is better… I think this is going to blow it away.”
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