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US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) once again deployed intense tariff rhetoric, claiming he averted a full-scale nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan by threatening both nations with devastating economic sanctions.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC's Joe Kernen, Trump used sweeping rhetoric to boast about the geopolitical efficacy of import duties, asserting that financial intimidation had allowed him to halt multiple global conflicts single-handedly during his presidency. "I stopped eight wars because of tariffs - India, Pakistan. I mean, I did so many - I stopped eight wars. Everybody acknowledges it. And five of the eight were stopped because of tariffs," Trump stated. Reflecting on the height of India-Pakistan hostilities, Trump detailed the specific economic ultimatums he claimed to have issued to New Delhi and Islamabad. "I said, if you keep fighting, I'm going to put a 200 per cent tariff on your country. Said the same thing to the other. I did it with India and with Pakistan," he said. Trump further claimed that the two nuclear-armed neighbours were on the absolute brink of a catastrophic, wider confrontation. "11 planes were shot down. They were going to war, and they are nuclear nations - strong nuclear nations," he added. Amplifying his rhetoric, the US President claimed that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had personally lauded his intervention. "And the Prime Minister of Pakistan said President Trump saved at least 30 million lives by stopping this war," Trump asserted. Trump's latest remarks come in the wake of significant domestic pushback against his trade policies. On February 20, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that his administration had exceeded its legal authority by utilising the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 to impose broad-based import tariffs. The geopolitical backdrop of the confrontation dates back to the April 2024 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. In retaliation, India had launched precision strikes on Pakistan's cross-border terrorist infrastructure under 'Operation Sindoor'. Despite Trump's persistent rhetoric claiming credit for the subsequent de-escalation, New Delhi has consistently refuted any claims of American mediation. India has firmly reiterated that the ceasefire was achieved strictly through bilateral channels between the respective Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs), maintaining its long-standing diplomatic position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are strictly bilateral, with no room for third-party involvement. (ANI)
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