Key facts
- New book claims Trump lost his temper with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
- Row was over US government figures claiming India's tariff rate is 175%
- India has disputed the tariff calculations used by the Trump administration
- Episode reveals internal White House discord over trade data
Donald Trump reportedly lost his temper with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after US government figures presented to him claimed India's tariff rate stood at 175% — a number that India and independent economists have strongly disputed. The revelation comes from a new book examining the behind-the-scenes drama of the Trump administration's sweeping global tariff offensive.
The figure of 175% appears to be far higher than standard assessments of India's weighted average tariff rate, and critics have long argued that the Trump administration's tariff calculations mixed apples and oranges — conflating different types of trade barriers and using contested methodologies. India's government has repeatedly pushed back on what it characterises as inflated and misleading numbers.
The reported confrontation between Trump and Lutnick over these figures is significant because it suggests even within the White House there was turbulence about the data underpinning the tariff decisions. That internal discord may help explain the erratic pace at which tariff announcements, pauses, and negotiations have unfolded with India and other trading partners.
With India and the US currently in active trade negotiations, the credibility of the numbers used to justify tariffs has moved from an academic question to a live diplomatic issue. If the baseline figures were themselves contested inside the administration, it strengthens India's negotiating position to push for a recalibration of the terms on which any deal is built.