'Going To Put America First': Trump Calls China, India, Brazil 'Tremendous Tariff-Makers'

The Republicans have gathered for their issues conference at Trump’s Florida resort, where they are set to plan the legislative strategy over the coming days.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called India, China and Brazil as "tremendous tariff makers" and said that the United States will impose tariffs on the countries that harm America.

Trump said that he would not allow it to happen and added that he is going to put America first.

"We're going to put tariffs on outside countries and outside people that really mean harm to us. Well, they mean us harm, but they basically want to make their country good," Trump told House Republicans at a Florida retreat on Monday.

The Republicans have gathered for their issues conference at Trump’s Florida resort, where they are set to plan the legislative strategy over the coming days.

"Look at what others do. China is a tremendous tariff maker, and India and Brazil and so many other countries. So we're not going to let that happen any longer because we're going to put America first," the US President said, according to news agency PTI. 

Trump said that the US will establish a very fair system where money is going to come into the country's coffers. He said the US is going to be very rich again, adding that it will happen very quickly. 

The president said that it was time for the US to return to the system that made it richer and more powerful than ever before.

The remarks come even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet Trump in Washington, as early as next month.

Referring to his inaugural speech last week, Trump said, "Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich foreign nations, we should be tariffing and taxing foreign nations to enrich our citizens." 

"Under the American first economic model, as tariffs on other countries go up, taxes on American workers and businesses will come down and massive numbers of jobs and factories will come home," he said. 

Trump had earlier talked about slapping "100 per cent tariffs" on the BRICS grouping, a bloc that includes India as well. 

During his address, Trump asked companies to come and set up manufacturing units in the US if they wished to avoid tariffs. 

"If you want to stop paying the taxes or the tariffs, you have to build your plant right here in America. That's what's going to happen at record levels. We're going to have more plants built in the next short period of time than anybody ever envisioned before because the incentive is going to be there because they have no tariff whatsoever," he said.