We should impose 50% levy on US goods: Shashi Tharoor on Trump tariffs

Shashi Tharoor's remarks were in response to the additional 25 per cent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on account of India's oil imports from Russia

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said that India should also increase tariffs on US-made goods to 50 per cent after the first tranche of Donald Trump administration's 25 per cent tariffs came into effect.

 

Tharoor's remarks were in response to the additional 25 per cent tariffs imposed by Trump on account of India's oil imports from Russia. Speaking to reporters, the Thiruvananthapuram MP questioned India's decision to levy a 17 per cent tariff, adding that New Delhi should not be intimidated by such actions.

 

"It will definitely have an impact because we have a trade of $90 billion with them, and if everything becomes 50% more expensive, buyers will also think why should they buy Indian things? If they do this, we should also impose a 50% tariff on American exports... It is not that any country can threaten us like this," Tharoor was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

 

"Our average tariffs on American goods are 17 per cent. Why should we stop at 17 per cent? We should also raise it to 50 per cent... We need to ask them, do they not value our relationship? If India doesn't matter to them, they should also not matter to us," Tharoor noted.

 

Trump imposes 50 per cent tariffs on India

 

On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order, announcing an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, bringing the country's total to 50 per cent. The executive order issued by the White House cited India's continuous imports of Russian oil as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States. 

 

While the first tranche of the tariff hike came into effect on Thursday, the second would come into effect on August 27. 

 

India calls the increased tariff move "unjustified"

 

Responding to the increased tariff rate, India on Wednesday released a statement, calling the move "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".

 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in its statement stated that India would take “all actions necessary to protect its national interests.” 

 

"The United States has in recent days targeted India’s oil imports from Russia,” the MEA said. “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 statement added.