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A day after US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on all Indian exports starting August 1, senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and P. Chidambaram hit out at the move, warning it could severely damage India’s trade with the United States. Tharoor called the development “very serious” and warned it could “destroy” India’s exports if not resolved through ongoing negotiations.
Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, “It's a very serious matter for us... 25, plus an unspecified penalty for our buying oil and gas from Russia, it could take it up to 35-45... There's even talk of a 100 per cent penalty, which will destroy our trade with America...” He added that while trade talks are underway, failure to resolve the issue could cause deep economic damage.
US tariff ‘unreasonable’, India has a right to resist: Tharoor
Tharoor also argued that Washington must acknowledge India’s economic constraints and competitive concerns when raising tariff demands. “On the other hand, if their demands are completely unreasonable, our negotiators have every right to resist... America has to understand our needs as well. Our tariffs on America are not that unreasonable. It's about 17 per cent average. American goods are not priced competitively enough to sell in the Indian market...,” he noted.
The US tariffs and penalties come in response to India’s continued purchases of Russian oil and military equipment — an issue Trump highlighted in his latest post on Truth Social. He accused India of having "the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country."
Chidambaram calls tariffs ‘big blow’, slams ‘dosti’ over diplomacy
Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram also criticised the tariff decision, calling it a violation of international trade norms and a diplomatic failure. In a veiled jab at Prime Minister Modi, Chidambaram said friendly relations ("Dosti") cannot substitute for “painstaking negotiations.”
“The 25 per cent tariff on all Indian exports to the United States PLUS penalty for buying Russian oil is a big blow to India's trade with the US 'Dosti' is no substitute for diplomacy and painstaking negotiations. The tariff imposed by the US is a clear violation of the WTO rules,” he wrote in a post on X.
Trump justifies tariffs, slams India’s Russia ties
Announcing the tariff move, Trump defended his decision in a strongly worded post, reiterating long-standing US concerns about India’s high tariffs and defence dependence on Russia. He wrote: “Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country. Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE - ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST 1st. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!”
English (US) ·