Op. Sindoor: Trump claims trade offer led to ‘ceasefire’ between India, Pak!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Although Donald Trump has publicly lamented that no one was giving him the credit for the ‘ceasefire’ between India and Pakistan, his administration insists that the cross-border firing earlier this month ended only after the US President offered the two neighbours trade benefits.
Interestingly, the Trump administration is now using this ‘tenuous ceasefire’ to justify the “Liberation Day” tariffs it imposed on several countries on April 2. In other words, the US President now claims that tariffs are an instrument to wage peace!
For, his administration told a court that India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire only after Trump interceded and offered both nations trading access with the US to avert a full-scale war, the media reported on Wednesday.
Earlier, after failing to wage peace in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump tried to take the credit for an “understanding between India and Pakistan to stop all firing and military actions”, following four days of cross-border drone and missile strikes during the Operation Sindoor (May 7-10), which has not officially concluded.
Defending the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on April 2, his administration told the US Court of International Trade recently that his special emergency powers to impose tariffs led to the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.
The media reported that the administration defended the US President’s ‘sweeping’ tariffs on more than 100 countries by arguing that limiting his emergency power would jeopardise the trade deals that Trump has been pursuing with multiple countries.
During his recent visit to Qatar, he also made a similar claim and asserted that he asked both nations to prioritise trade over conflict, a claim which India has denied.
However, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick informed the court that Trump used his emergency power under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs aimed at protecting the economy and national security of the country. He also added that the maintenance of these tariffs is vital to Trump’s ability to conduct real-world diplomacy.
He said, “For example, India and Pakistan – two nuclear powers engaged in combat operations just 13 days ago – reached a tenuous ceasefire on May 10, 2025. This ceasefire was only achieved after President Trump interceded and offered both nations trading access with the United States to avert a full-scale war.”
“An adverse ruling that constrains presidential power in this case could lead India and Pakistan to question the validity of President Trump’s offer, threatening the security of an entire region, and the lives of millions.
On April 2, Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on over 100 countries, including India, China, Japan, and South Korea. India was hit with a 26 percent reciprocal tariff. Shortly after the announcement, Trump declared a 90-day pause on tariffs and is currently negotiating deals with several countries ahead of the July 9 deadline.
Since then, India has been trying to reach an agreement with the US. Trump previously claimed that trade talks with India are “coming along great” and he also asserted that a deal with “India, Japan, and South Korea” is likely soon.
However, the US signed its first trade agreement with the UK, and a deal between the US and India is yet to be finalised.
