Washington: US President Donald Trump has claimed that he used tariffs as a tool to resolve multiple international disputes — including tensions between India and Pakistan. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said his threat to impose heavy trade duties helped avert potential conflicts.
“I settled a few of the wars just based on tariffs,” Trump told reporters. “For example, between India and Pakistan — I said, if you guys want to fight a war and you have nuclear weapons, I’m going to put big tariffs on you both, like 100 per cent, 150 per cent, even 200 per cent.”
According to Trump, his warning to impose steep tariffs on both nations quickly de-escalated the situation. “I said I’m putting tariffs. I had that thing settled in 24 hours. If I didn’t have tariffs, you could never have settled that war,” he asserted.
Reiterating earlier remarks made during an October 9 interview with Fox News, Trump once again claimed credit for brokering peace between India and Pakistan, saying the conflict in May was resolved through his direct intervention and tariff strategy.
Asked how he managed to bring warring nations to the negotiating table, Trump responded, “Having the ability to use tariffs has brought peace to the world. You know, I made seven peace deals.”
He elaborated that trade leverage played a major role in ending several long-standing conflicts. “Not in all cases, but probably at least five of the seven peace deals we’ve done so far were through trade — by saying we won’t deal with countries that fight,” he said.
Citing India and Pakistan as an example, Trump added, “I told them we won’t do business with either of you if you don’t work it out. These are two nuclear nations — seven planes were shot down, and they were really going at it. I said we’re putting massive tariffs on you. Within 24 hours, they stopped fighting.”
Trump has repeatedly made similar claims about mediating peace between India and Pakistan, insisting that his administration’s trade threats brought stability after heightened border tensions earlier this year.
On September 21, during a speech at the American Cornerstone Institute Founder’s Dinner, Trump had even said he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for “ending seven wars.” “We are forging peace agreements and stopping wars,” he said. “We stopped wars between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia — and we did it through trade. Both leaders respected that.”
However, India has consistently dismissed Trump’s assertions, reiterating that all issues between New Delhi and Islamabad — including those related to Jammu and Kashmir — are strictly bilateral matters.
