New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday said reciprocal tariffs are a complete negation of all accepted principles of international trade and asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should “summon the courage” to remind his “good friend that the T in WTO stands for Trade not Trump”.
The opposition party’s assertion comes after US President Donald Trump has rolled out his plan to increase US tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports, possibly triggering a broader economic confrontation with allies and rivals alike.
Trump has said his administration will “soon” impose reciprocal tariffs on countries such as India and China, reiterating what he had said during Prime Minister Modi’s recent visit to the US capital.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “Reciprocal tariffs are a complete negation of all accepted principles of international trade. Mr. Modi should summon the courage to remind his good friend that the T in WTO stands for Trade not Trump.”
In a post on X, Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also posed five questions to the Modi government on reciprocal tariffs by the US.
How does the government plan to protect the interests of domestic farmers, who make up 45.76 per cent of the workforce, in light of potential increased imports from the US, he asked.
“Will the government now consider changes in domestic policy, particularly the legalisation of MSP, to provide basic income support to Indian farmers? What assurances will the Indian government secure to prevent India from becoming a dumping ground for cheap US agricultural imports?” Khera said.
How does the government plan to safeguard the MSME sector, whose production will be severely impacted by costly exports and increased competition from foreign products, Khera further asked.
“What will be the impact of reciprocal tariffs on India’s GDP?” the Congress leader said.
