Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Oct 20: US President Donald Trump has claimed credit for averting a potential war between India and Pakistan, saying he used the threat of steep trade tariffs to prevent the two nuclear-armed neighbours from “going at it.”
Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Trump said his administration applied economic pressure after India’s Operation Sindoor in May, when Indian forces struck nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
“They were going at it — seven planes were shot down. That’s a lot. And they were going at it. That could have been a nuclear war,” Trump said, adding that his trade threats “settled the war.”
The former president claimed that by warning both New Delhi and Islamabad of 200 per cent tariffs, he pushed the countries to step back from the brink. “I said to India and Pakistan pretty much the same thing: ‘Look, if you’re going to fight each other, I’m not going to do business with you. We’re going to put on a 200 per cent tariff. It’ll make it impossible for you to do business,’” he asserted.
Trump also highlighted his record of using tariffs to influence conflicts, stating that he had “ended eight wars,” five of them “because of tariffs.”
However, India has consistently rejected Trump’s claims, maintaining that its military and diplomatic measures were taken independently without any foreign intervention.
This marks the latest instance of Trump asserting his role in international conflict resolution through economic leverage.