Opposition leaders on Wednesday said that United States President Donald Trump’s decision to double tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 50% reflected an “abysmal failure” of diplomacy by the Narendra Modi-led Union government.

“While his [Trump’s] tariff and penalty actions are simply unacceptable, the fact remains that they also reflect the abysmal failure of Modi’s personalised and headline-grabbing style of huglomacy,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on social media.

Recalling former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s stance against US pressure in the 1970s, Ramesh said: “Instead of defaming, distorting, and denigrating her, Modi should shed his ego – if indeed that were possible – and take inspiration from the manner in which she stood up to the USA”.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that the tariff hike amounted to “economic blackmail” and a blatant attempt to pressure India into accepting an unfair trade deal.

“PM Modi better not let his weakness override the interests of the Indian people,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Gandhi had alleged that Modi’s inability to confront Trump stems from the ongoing US investigation into the Adani Group – led by business tycoon Gautam Adani.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that any nation that “arbitrarily” penalises India for its “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”.

Noting that India’s national interest is supreme, Kharge said that Trump’s tariffs came at a time when the country’s “own diplomacy is disastrously dithering”.

Kharge said that the prime minister had “kept mum” when Trump claimed that he brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he helped India and Pakistan settle the four-day conflict in May. The US president has also claimed that he pressured both countries into accepting the ceasefire by threatening to stop trade with them.

New Delhi has rejected Trump’s assertions.

Kharge added that Trump had been planning “reciprocal tariffs” for several months.

“We all knew about it,” he said. “You [Modi] did nothing in the Union Budget to soften the blow on our key sectors such as agriculture, MSMEs [Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises] and various industries.”

The Congress chief added: “You failed to negotiate a trade deal with the US…Now Mr Trump is intimidating and coercing us – but you keep quiet.”

He said that India’s exports to the US amounted to about Rs 7.5 lakh crore in 2024.

“A blanket 50% tariff means an economic burden of Rs 3.75 lakh crore,” Kharge said. “Your govt is clueless how to deal with it. You can’t even blame this foreign policy disaster on the 70 years of Congress.”

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien questioned, “now what will 56 inch say about the 50% Trump tariff", in a pointed remark aimed at the prime minister.

“And now we know why Modi and his creaky coalition are disrupting Parliament,” he added.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader MA Baby called the 50% tariff hike “unilateral and illegal”, urging the Indian government to “stand firm, defend our interests, and resist US pressure”.

Trump on Wednesday issued an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods imported from India for purchasing Russian oil. This raised the US tariff rate on Indian goods to 50%.

On July 30, Washington had announced a 25% levy on goods imported from India as part of the so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries that have not finalised separate trade agreements with the US.

The additional levy will take effect in 21 days.

In response, New Delhi said on Wednesday that it was “extremely unfortunate” that the US had chosen to impose additional tariffs on India “for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest”.

“We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” said the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson. “India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests."


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