‘Catastrophic failure of foreign policy’: Congress on US decision to impose 25% tariffs on India

The Congress on Wednesday called United States President Donald Trump's announcement on levying a 25% tariff on goods imported from India from August 1 a “catastrophic failure of foreign policy”.

“An entire nation suffers from the consequences of one man’s ‘Friendship’,” the Opposition party said on X.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh added that “all that taarif [praise] between him [Trump] and Howdy Modi has meant little”.

He also criticised Modi for not rebutting the US president’s claims of brokering a ceasefire deal between India and Pakistan in May.

Ramesh said: “Mr. Modi thought that if he kept quiet on the insults…India would get special treatment at the hands of President Trump. Clearly that has NOT happened.”

The head of the party’s social media department, Supriya Shrinate, said that the tariffs would be “disastrous for the Indian economy” and remarked that “this comes despite Mr Modi bending backwards to woo Mr Trump”.

“This is a clear sign of how the BJP Govt and the Prime Minister have compromised India’s national interest,” she added.

Move will increase uncertainty, say industry bodies

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said that the United States’ decision will increase uncertainty for Indian exporters in the near term. “We hope that this move is short lived and that the two countries will arrive at a mutually beneficial trade...

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