Trump Claims 100–200% Tariffs Were Used to Resolve India-Pakistan Tensions

US President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated his claim that he helped avert a full-scale war between India and Pakistan earlier this year by threatening both nations with massive tariffs ranging from 100 to 200 percent.

Tensions had escalated in May after Pakistan allegedly intervened in India’s counterterror operation, Operation Sindoor, engaging Indian forces while shielding militants accused of the Pahalgam tourist massacre in April.

“I settled a few of the wars just based on tariffs. For example, between India and Pakistan, I said, if you guys want to fight a war and you have nuclear weapons, I am going to put big tariffs on you both — 100 per cent, 150 per cent, even 200 per cent,” Trump told reporters while en route to Egypt for a peace summit aimed at finalizing a truce between Israel and Hamas to end the two-year-long war in Gaza.

“I said I am putting tariffs. I had that thing settled in 24 hours. If I didn’t have tariffs, you could have never settled that war,” he added.

India, however, has maintained that the ceasefire resulted from a series of meetings between senior military officials of both countries, without any third-party intervention. New Delhi has stated that the truce followed Pakistan Army’s outreach for talks after significant losses to its military infrastructure, including nearly a dozen air bases and disrupted air defense systems caused by India’s retaliatory strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan, in contrast, publicly thanked Trump for his “role in de-escalation” and even lobbied for him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Ultimately, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for her steadfast commitment to democracy in the face of President Nicolas Maduro’s authoritarian rule.