'Foreign policy disaster': Congress chief Kharge on fresh US tariffs on India

The Congress on Thursday targeted the Modi government, saying it failed to negotiate a trade deal with the United States, due to which US President Donald Trump is now “intimidating and coercing” New Delhi. The party said India's national interest must remain supreme.

The latest criticism from the Opposition comes after Trump, through an executive order, imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for its continued purchase of Russian crude oil. The tariff is scheduled to take effect in three weeks and will be imposed in addition to a separate 25 per cent duty coming into force this Thursday.

“Trump has been planning 'RECIPROCAL TARIFFS' since months now. We all knew about it. You did nothing in the Union Budget to soften the blow on our key sectors such as Agriculture, MSMEs and various industries,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in his post on X.

Taking a jibe at the Modi government, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said ministers have been talking about negotiating a trade deal with America for months. “Some of them even camped in Washington for several days,” Kharge said.

Despite this, the Congress chief, in reference to PM Modi, said, “You failed to negotiate a TRADE DEAL with the US. You had more than 6 months. Now Mr. Trump is intimidating and coercing us — but you keep quiet.”

India’s exports to the US amount to about Rs 7.51 lakh crore (2024), he said, adding that a blanket 50 per cent tariff means an economic burden of Rs 3.75 lakh crore.

He said several Indian sectors — MSMEs, agriculture, dairy, engineering goods, electronic goods, gems & jewellery, drug formulations & biologicals, petroleum products and cotton-made clothes — will be the most hit due to Trump's tariffs.

He said the Modi government is “clueless” about how to deal with it.

“You can't even blame this FOREIGN POLICY DISASTER on the 70 years of Congress!!” he said.

The Congress chief also said India's national interest is supreme. “Any nation that arbitrarily penalises India for our time-tested policy of strategic autonomy, which is embedded in the ideology of non-alignment, doesn't understand the steel frame India is made of,” he said.

He added that “from the threats of the 7th fleet to the sanctions of nuclear tests, we have navigated our relationship with the US with self-respect and dignity.”

“Trump's 50% tariffs come at a time, when our own diplomacy is disastrously dithering,” he said.