Trump Renews Claim of Using Tariffs to Defuse India-Pakistan Standoff

Washington, DC [US]: US President Donald Trump reaffirmed his claim of negotiating a “ceasefire” among India and Pakistan in 2024, threatening “200 percent tariffs,” as he argued against the US Supreme Court verdict that invalidated his reciprocal tariffs.

While maintaining his claim, Trump stated that ten fighter jets were shot down during the combat, reversing his earlier assertion of eleven jets.

Trump stated

“Tariffs have also been used to end five of the eight wars I’ve settled. Whether you like it or not, I’ve settled eight wars, including a major one between India and Pakistan that could have gone nuclear. The Prime Minister of Pakistan stated at yesterday’s Peace Board meeting that President Trump might have spared 35 million deaths by convincing us to stop warring. “They were preparing to do some bad things,” Trump stated.

Ten planes were shot down. That war is still going on and will most likely go nuclear. I primarily used tariffs to accomplish this. I said, “Look, if you want to fight, that’s fine, but you’re not going to do business with the United States, and you’re going to pay a 200 percent tariff on each country,” and they called up and said, “We’ve made peace,” he continued.

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This comes after the Supreme Court declared 6-3 that the Trump administration exceeded its legal power by imposing broad-based import tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977.

During the first Board of Peace meeting, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised Trump for his mediation in the war, calling him a “man of peace” and a “saviour of people of South Asia.”

“Your immediate and highly effective intervention in arranging a cease-fire between India and Pakistan may have saved millions of lives. You have clearly demonstrated your ability to be a man of peace, and I believe you are the true saviour of the people of South Asia,” Shehbaz Sharif stated.

Following the Pahalgam terror assault in April 2024, 26 individuals were killed. In reaction to the attack, India initiated Operation Sindoor, which involved pinpoint attacks on Pakistan’s terrorist infrastructure.

India has continually denied Trump’s assertions, claiming that the ceasefire was negotiated bilaterally by the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) with no third-party involvement.

India has also repeated its long-held position that all concerns with Pakistan, including those involving Jammu and Kashmir, must be handled bilaterally between the two countries.