New Delhi : Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday called on the Modi government to stand up to US President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive by imposing reciprocal duties on American goods and exploring alternative markets. Tharoor’s remarks came after Trump signed an executive order announcing an extra 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports, on top of an existing 25 per cent, citing India’s continued purchase of Russian crude oil as the reason for the penalty.
Calling the US move uncalled for, Tharoor pointed out that Trump has not imposed similar punitive measures on China or the European Union, both of which maintain far greater energy trade with Moscow. The Congress leader urged the government to retaliate by matching the tariff level and expanding trade ties beyond the US.
We are not a nation that goes around issuing threats. But in my view, apart from diversifying to other markets, we should also make it very clear to our American friends that if they’re going to apply 50 percent [tariffs] to us, our current tariff on America, which is at an average of 17 per cent, will also go up to 50 per cent, Tharoor said.
Trump slapped an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday, raising the total duty to 50 per cent — among the highest imposed on any US trading partner. The US President also accused New Delhi of selling to other countries the products made from Russian oil at a high profit.
India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits. After the total tariffs on Indian exports to the US rose to 50 per cent, the Ministry of External Affairs responded that the US targeting India over Russian oil imports is unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.
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