US President Donald Trump praised India’s economic performance, saying the country is “doing very well”, a major change from his remarks last year when he described India as a “dead economy” amid trade tensions.Speaking in an interview with CNBC on Thursday ahead of US Independence Day celebrations, Trump cited India to argue that strong economic growth should not automatically lead to higher interest rates.“You have some countries, India is one, doing very well, but it’s at 7, 8%,” Trump said, according to a CNBC interview transcript. Comparing India’s growth with that of America, he argued that America’s economy should also be allowed to grow at a very fast pace.
A sharp contrast to last year’s criticism
Trump’s latest comments are in sharp contrast to his comments in July 2025, when he sharply criticized India over trade and its ties with Russia. Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I don’t care what India does to Russia. They can get their dead economies together, that’s all I care about.”At that time, he also announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports and accused India of maintaining “very high” tariffs and “the most onerous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country”.The comments came after India and the US failed to conclude an interim trade deal, prompting Washington to impose higher tariffs, with the move also being linked to India’s purchases of Russian oil and defense equipment.Criticism of Trump increased further in August 2025. Shortly after his “dead economy” comment, he signed an executive order on August 6 imposing an additional 25% penalty tariff on India on its continued purchases of Russian crude.The measure comes on top of the 25% tariffs announced a few days ago, taking the cumulative US tariffs on Indian goods to 50%. The additional duties officially came into effect on August 27, 2025.
Trade agreement talks are gaining momentum
Trump’s current change in tone comes as New Delhi and Washington move closer to finalizing a bilateral trade agreement.Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently said that the contours of the proposed deal have been finalized, although implementation depends on India securing tariff benefits over competing exporting countries.Talks gained momentum after the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France in June. The two countries are now working to conclude an interim trade deal before the temporary US tariff arrangement expires on July 24.The proposed agreement is expected to deepen cooperation in trade, investment and technology while expanding market access for businesses in both countries.
Trump defends US economic performance
During the CNBC interview, Trump used India as an example while defending the strength of the US economy and criticizing the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates.He argued that countries with strong economic growth should not be punished through tight monetary policy.“There’s no reason we should stop at 4%. We should be at 12% and 13% GDP,” Trump said.The US President also claimed that America was in a “Golden Age”, with more factories being built than ever before, employment at record highs, stock markets reaching new highs and Americans’ retirement savings growing rapidly.Trump said he believed the U.S. economy was performing better than during his first presidential term, saying, “It’s better… I think it will outlast it.”
