Washington, Jan 5 (IANS) US President Donald Trump on Monday said the US has taken in, and will soon receive, more than $600 billion through tariffs, arguing that the policy has strengthened the country financially and bolstered national security.

The President also accused the country’s media of downplaying the issue ahead of a key Supreme Court decision.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “We have taken in, and will soon be receiving, more than 600 Billion Dollars in Tariffs, but the Fake News Media refuses to talk about it because they hate and disrespect our Country, and want to interfere with the upcoming Tariff decision, one of the most important ever, of the United States Supreme Court.”

The President, in his social media post, asserted that framed trade measures are directly linked to the nation’s global standing.

“Because of Tariffs, our Country is financially, AND FROM A NATIONAL SECURITY STANDPOINT, FAR STRONGER AND MORE RESPECTED THAN EVER BEFORE,” Trump wrote.

Soon after coming to power in January 2025, Trump and his team used tariffs as a national security and foreign policy tool, imposing massive tariffs on countries around the world on imports of their products.

He has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on the import of products from India.

India pushing ahead to diversify exports amid US tariff turmoil: Report

According to an article in the South China Morning Post. New Delhi plans to diversify the country’s exports away from the US, and this approach is expected to gather pace ingoing ahead.

The article highlights that ever since US President Donald Trump imposed penal import tariffs of 50 per cent on India last year, New Delhi has maintained a resolute approach to the punitive levies, even as it has kept the door open to negotiations.

The US is India’s largest export market, receiving about 18 per cent of its total goods exports, including items such as garments and leather products, with a vast diaspora readily snapping up products shipped from their homeland.

While it remains unclear whether the two countries can negotiate a trade deal given India’s firm position on opening sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy to US products, experts are sceptical that Washington will significantly roll back its tariffs, the article states.

--IANS

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