Desk Report,
‘India must retaliate’: Shashi Tharoor on Trump’s tariff issue
If talks with the US fail, Donald Trump’s tariff aggression should be responded to by imposing a 50 percent counter-tariff on imported US goods.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor made this comment in an interview with NDTV.
‘India must retaliate’: Shashi Tharoor on Trump’s tariff issue
Shashi Tharoor told reporters outside the Parliament House, “First we should sit for talks. I don’t know why Trump is so angry with us. China was given 90 days, and we have only 21 days. Now if they increase the tariff to 50 percent, our response will also have to be a counter-tariff.” Tharoor said that currently India charges an average of 17 percent duty on goods imported from the US. In his words, “We should also increase it to 50 percent. If they (the US) do this, we will also do the same.” Yesterday, Wednesday, the Trump administration announced an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods imported into the US. The US has said that the decision has been taken as a punishment for India’s continued purchase of crude oil from Russia. However, India has repeatedly said that it needs to buy cheap Russian oil to ensure the energy security of its people.
Terming the US move as ‘unfair, unreasonable and unjust’, India said that many countries are doing the same thing for which additional duties have been imposed on it. Among them is China. According to India, the decision is ‘extremely unfortunate’.
Asked whether India will continue to buy oil from Russia despite Trump’s pressure, Tharoor said, ‘We have to understand the market situation and decide where to buy oil and gas. If the price of Russian oil is much lower than that of other countries, why should we not benefit? We need oil and gas to continue our development activities.’
Currently, India-US trade talks are virtually stalled. The main reason for this is said to be India’s refusal to allow US companies access to several strategic sectors, including agriculture. New Delhi has taken such a stand in the interest of domestic farmers. After Trump’s announcement of additional tariffs, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The interests of farmers are our top priority. There will be no compromise with the interests of India’s farmers, livestock farmers and fishermen. I know that I may have to pay a big price personally for this, but I am ready. India is ready in the interest of the country’s farmers, fishermen and livestock farmers.”
