Trump Repeats Claim He Forced India-Pakistan Ceasefire by Threatening Trade Cut

US President Donald Trump has again asserted that India and Pakistan halted hostilities earlier this year because he threatened to block trade with both countries, a claim New Delhi has repeatedly denied.

Speaking at an event in Miami on Wednesday, Trump said his warning came as the two nuclear-armed neighbours were “going to war,” and that he told their governments the US would not sign trade deals unless they agreed to peace.

“I said, ‘I’m not trading with you if you’re at war with each other,’” Trump said, according to remarks reported by PTI. “A day later, I get a call saying, ‘We made peace.’ Tariffs did that.”

Trump, who has often exaggerated his role in global diplomacy, also claimed he had “solved eight wars in nine months” of his presidency. He further revised his previous account of the India-Pakistan clash, saying eight planes were shot down instead of seven.

According to Trump, the exchange took place on May 9, and both sides announced a ceasefire on May 10, 2025. However, India has publicly rejected any suggestion of US mediation.

At the G7 Summit in Canada earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dismissed Trump’s version of events. “At no stage was there any discussion of a US role or linkage to a trade deal,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

The ceasefire followed India’s launch of “Operation Sindoor,” a tri-service strike on militant camps in Pakistan-controlled territory, carried out in response to a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April that killed 26 tourists.

Trump has also imposed steep tariffs on both countries, including a 50% levy on Indian goods, citing New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil and participation in BRICS. Pakistan currently faces a 19% tariff.