Vowing to introduce a reciprocal tax if elected to power, former US president Donald Trump has claimed that India imposes the highest tariffs on foreign products. But they do it with a smile, he added.

“Perhaps the most important element of my plan to make America extraordinarily wealthy again is reciprocity. It's a word that's very important in my plan because we generally don't charge tariffs. I started that process, it was so great, with the vans and the small trucks, etc,” Trump said Thursday in a major economic policy speech.

“We really don't charge. China will charge us a 200 per cent tariff. Brazil is a big charger. The biggest charger of all is India,” the Republican presidential candidate said in Detroit.

But he softened the blow by heaping praise on Modi.

“India is a very big charger. We have a great relationship with India. I did. And especially the leader, Modi. He's a great leader. Great man. Really is a great man. He's brought it together. He's done a great job,” he said.

“I mean, I think they probably charge more than, in many ways, China. But they do it with a smile. They do it... Sort of a nicer charge. They said thank you so much for purchasing from India,” he told members of the Detroit Economic Club.

Trump returned to the theme of importing duties on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and his meeting with the representatives of the American company during his previous term as president.

“I said how's business? Good, good. What are the bad countries? Well, India is very tough. And they gave me some others. Why? Tariffs. I said what are they? And they said like 150 per cent, some massive amount,” Trump said.

He recalled the company representatives saying India wanted them to build a plant there.

Thursday's remarks by Trump follow his praise for Modi earlier this week when he described Modi as “the nicest human being”.

“Modi, India. He’s a friend of mine. He’s great. Before him, they were replacing them every year. It’s very unstable. He came over. He’s a friend of mine. But on the outside, he looks like he’s your father. He’s the nicest, but he’s a total killer,” he had said.

Trump recalled the prime minister’s visit to Houston to attend the ‘Howdy Modi’ event during his tenure, and said, “It was beautiful. It’s like 80,000 people going crazy." The Republican candidate had said he shared a “very good relationship” with Modi.

Recalling that there were a couple of occasions where somebody was “threatening” India, he said, "I told Modi let me help as I am very good with those people. To which he aggressively responded, ‘I will do it. I will do it. And I would do anything necessary. We have defeated them for hundreds of years.' I said, 'Whoa, what just happened there'.”

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