India Boiling Over Trump's 50% Tariff: "Economic Intimidation"

Trump Raises Tariffs on Indian Imports from 25% to 50% as Announced
Jewelry, Textiles, Footwear, and Agricultural Products Expected to Suffer Major Impact

From the left, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India; Donald Trump, President of the United States; Vladimir Putin, President of Russia. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

U.S. President Donald Trump has raised tariffs up to 50% due to imports of Russian oil, fueling growing anger toward President Trump within India.

According to Bloomberg and other sources on August 7 (local time), Rahul Gandhi, former leader of the Indian National Congress (INC), the main opposition party in the Indian federal parliament, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "President Trump's 50% tariff is economic intimidation," and described it as "an attempt to force unfair trade agreements on India." He also emphasized, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi must not allow anything that goes against the interests of the Indian people."

President Trump announced the previous day that he would impose an additional 25% tariff on India due to its purchases of Russian oil. This tariff is scheduled to take effect within 21 days, and the total tariff imposed by the U.S. on India will reach 50%, including the 25% reciprocal tariff set to take effect on August 7.

Shashi Tharoor, a politician from the same party, also stated that pressure is mounting within India to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products. He urged that India must now look for alternative trading partners to replace the U.S., which is currently its largest export market.

This measure is expected to deal a significant blow to India's exports to the U.S. Last year, the U.S. recorded a trade deficit of $46 billion (about 63 trillion won) with India, a 5% increase from the previous year. Previously, Bloomberg analyzed that even a 25% reciprocal tariff alone would reduce India's exports to the U.S. by about 30% and decrease its gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.6%. With the additional 25% tariff now imposed, it is expected that the export decline could reach up to 60%, and GDP losses could expand to 0.9%. Labor-intensive industries such as jewelry, textiles, footwear, and agricultural products are expected to be hit particularly hard.

The U.S. imposed a 26% reciprocal tariff on India in April and has been negotiating since then, but no agreement has been reached. Negotiations have stalled due to disagreements over the reduction of tariffs imposed on U.S. agricultural products and dairy products.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.