Two Rajya Sabha MPs condemn US tariff hike

In a rare show of unity, two prominent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha members — Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal and Ashok Mittal — have strongly criticised US President Donald Trump’s recent tariff hike on Indian imports, calling them unjust, counterproductive, and damaging principles of fair global trade.

Sant Seechewal, responding to Trump’s announcement of an additional 25 per cent tariff following an earlier similar hike, said that intimidating poorer nations and economically exploiting them “does not befit a powerful nation like America”. He warned that while such tariffs might not cripple India’s economy, they would stain America’s global image and erode the trust on which international cooperation was built.

“When one prefers weapons or wealth, instead of embracing people around the world, they start following a policy of fear and extraction,” Seechewal remarked, cautioning that the poorest countries would bear the brunt of such policies.

Mittal, in an open letter to President Trump, challenged the 50 per cent tariff hike on Indian imports as a move that risked long-term harm to US-India relations. Countering Trump’s reported remark that India’s economy was “dead,” Mittal stressed that India was the world’s fourth-largest economy and a vital contributor to America’s technology sector.

“The US digital economy runs on code — much of it written in India,” he wrote, urging Washington to recognise India as an equal partner, not an adversary.

Both MPs underlined India’s resilience in the face of external economic pressure. Seechewal recalled that India had faced sanctions in the past without compromising its self-reliance, while Mittal drew on the legacy of the 1905 Swadeshi Movement to warn against underestimating Indian consumer power.

“What if 146 crore Indians boycott American companies operating in India?” Mittal asked, emphasising that selective economic penalties weaken trust between democracies. Economic experts have already warned that Trump’s tariff escalation, part of a broader hardline trade strategy, could destabilise financial markets and push global businesses to reconsider their operations in the United States.

Both Seechewal and Mittal urged Washington to abandon punitive measures in favour of constructive dialogue, arguing that the shared democratic values, entrepreneurial spirit, and vision for stability between India and the US should guide the two nations toward bridge-building rather than barrier-making. — OC