Democrats in the US House Foreign Affairs panel called out US President Donald Trump’s “singling out India with tariffs’ in a statement on Thursday.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee Dems posted on X, stating, “Instead of imposing sanctions on China or others purchasing larger amounts of Russian oil, Trump’s singling out India with tariffs, hurting Americans & sabotaging the US-India relationship in the process. ”
They refered to a report by the New York Times that claimed to “explore why India is so confused by the Trump administration as US tariff rates of 50 percent are set to take effect today.”
‘Trump singles out India’
Democrats’ statement came a day after Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs imposed on Indian goods came into force.
Trump had earlier announced 25 percent “reciprocal tariffs” on Indian goods and later raised it to 50 per cent as penalty for New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
The US imposed this additional tariff or penalty for Russian imports only on India while other buyers such as China and Turkey have so far escaped such measures. The 30 per cent tariff on China and 15 per cent on Turkey is lower than India’s 50 per cent.
The announcement is being seen as a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to demands made by the US in the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).
‘Extremely unfortunate’
The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement on August 6, raising concerns over Trump’s tariffs on India.
The ministry said, “The United States has in recent days targeted India’s oil imports from Russia.”
“We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India, the ministry added.
Calling it “extremely unfortunate”, the ministry said that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest.
“We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable. India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests,” the external affairs ministry had said.
During the recent Monsoon session of Parliament, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal made a statement in both Houses, affirming that the government is examining the impact of tariffs and will take all necessary steps to safeguard the national interest.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that his government would shield small entrepreneurs, farmers, and livestock rearers.