Trump says 'no trade talks' with India.
US imposes 50% tariff of Indian goods from August 27.
US not happy with India's continued Russian oil purchase
United States President Donald Trump has announced that there will be no trade talks with India until the tariff issue is resolved. This comes after the US administration imposed double tariffs on Indian imports.
India is now facing an additional 25 per cent tariff, which raised the total duties to 50 per cent on export goods, as a penalty for New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. The 50 per cent duty will come into effect from August 27.
The sectors, which would bear the brunt of 50 per cent duty, include textiles/ clothing, gems and jewellery, shrimp, leather and footwear, chemicals, and electrical and mechanical machinery.
What Did Trump Say?
US President Donald Trump has ruled out the possibility of trade negotiations with India, until the issue of tariffs is resolved.
“No, not until we get it resolved,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday in response to a question on whether he expects increased trade negotiations with India since he has announced 50 per cent tariffs on the country.
India's Response To High Tariffs
Responding to the tariffs, the Ministry of External Affairs has said that the targeting of India is "unjustified and unreasonable".
“Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” it said.
On the current situation between India and the US, prominent Indian-American attorney Ravi Batra said “much more is at stake” amid Trump’s tariffs.
He described as “unfortunate” that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not accept a ceasefire with Ukraine as wanted by Trump.
"Hurting India is to hurt Russia,” Batra said in a post on X. “But it hurts us too, much more,” he said adding that America needs the Russian president to enter into a “genuine” ceasefire with Ukraine, “free-of-deception by any, and then get President Xi (Jinping of China) and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi to be American allies too, along with Putin.” “It’s time for a mature reset, or we risk a domino effect that hurts all and unravels multilateralism and gives us unbridled chaos that even creative Wall Street and Federal Reserve can’t handle,” he said.
PM Modi's Subtle Response
In a subtle message directed at US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that India will never compromise on the interests of its farmers, fishermen and dairy sector, and declared he was prepared to bear a significant personal cost if necessary.
The US wants reduced tariffs on products like corn, soybeans, apples, almonds and ethanol, as well as increased access for US dairy products. New Delhi is, however, resisting these demands as these will have a direct bearing on farmers.
"Hamare liye apne kisaanon ka hit sarvoch prathamikta hai. Bharat apne kisaanon, pashu-paalakon aur macchuaare bhai-bahanon ke hiton ke saath kabhi bhi samjhuata nahin karega. (For us, the interests of farmers are our top priority. India will never compromise on the interests of its farmers, dairy farmers and fishermen)," Modi said.
He was addressing a global conference to mark the birth centenary of late agri-scientist M S Swaminathan, the architect of India's Green Revolution.