HomePoliticsIndia-US Trade War Brews: Shashi Tharoor Demands 50% Tariffs on American Goods...

India-US Trade War Brews: Shashi Tharoor Demands 50% Tariffs on American Goods After Trump’s Shock Sanctions

New Delhi: The Union government will brief the Shashi Tharoor-led Standing Committee on External Affairs today (August 11) on critical developments in India’s foreign policy, with a sharp focus on the escalating US-India trade tensions and newly imposed tariffs. The meeting, scheduled for 4 pm, will see top officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry present their assessment to the committee, according to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Committee chairperson Shashi Tharoor has sounded the alarm, describing the situation as “concerning” and urging India to take a firm stand. The senior Congress leader responded strongly to the United States’ decision to slap a 50% tariff on Indian goods, suggesting that India should respond with matching duties on American exports.

“What is happening is concerning. A country with which we had close relations, and we were working as strategic partners. If that country has changed its behaviour, then India will have to think about many things… Perhaps in the coming two to three weeks, we can hold talks and find a way out. India will also have to look after its own interests,” Tharoor warned.

Highlighting the gravity of the move, Tharoor noted, “It will definitely have an impact because we have a trade of $90 billion with them, and if everything becomes 50 per cent more expensive, buyers will also think why should they buy Indian things? If they do this, we should also impose a 50 per cent tariff on American exports… It is not that any country can threaten us like this.”

The tariffs were authorised by US President Donald Trump through an Executive Order, citing national security and foreign policy concerns, specifically targeting India’s continued imports of Russian oil. The Ministry of External Affairs has slammed the decision as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” vowing to take all necessary steps to safeguard India’s national interests.

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