Chennai, Aug 12 (PTI) US President Donald Trump “unilaterally” imposing a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods was a “hegemonic conspiracy” that India should oppose strongly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Tuesday.
He was addressing an event to commemorate late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and described him as a “keeper” of the “hornet’s nest” that stung US whenever it “touched Cuba.”
Stalin said there was an emergent need to “break the ongoing hegemonic conspiracies in the world.”
Such conspiracies necessarily don’t mean war.
“The 50 per cent tax imposed by US on India is one such conspiracy. The BJP ruling at the Centre should strongly oppose this. The Central BJP government and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi should provide a transparent response to this,” he said.
“Why should US President Trump unilaterally impose the tariff when five rounds of Indo-US trade talks had happened and the sixth one was scheduled. Trump is repeatedly saying he stopped the India-Pakistan war (Operation Sindoor). While the opposition raises the matter in the two houses of Parliament, PM Modi has not given any answer. This is his weakness,” Stalin charged.
“But Castro was symbol of strength, a protector of his country and its people,” he added.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted in the Lok Sabha that no foreign leader had asked India to halt Operation Sindoor.
Speaking during a debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, Modi emphasised that no country opposed India’s defensive actions against terrorism.
His remarks were made in response to repeated opposition questions concerning US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a “ceasefire” between India and Pakistan.
Trump had last week slapped an additional 25 per cent tariff on goods coming from India as penalty for New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil. He had signed an executive order – Addressing Threats to the US by the Government of the Russian Federation – imposing the additional tariff over an above the 25 per cent levy which came into effect from August 7.
After this order, the total tariff on Indian goods, barring a small exemption list, will be 50 per cent.