New Delhi [India], August 6 : Slamming the United States for "double standard" for imposing an additional 25% tariff on India for buying Russian oil, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said US President Donald Trump's move will make "our goods unaffordable to a lot of people in America."
He pointed out that while China imports various materials, including more Russian oil than India, the country has received a "90-day break" from the US tariffs.
"Uranium, Palladium, there are various things they (US) are importing from Russia. There is, unfortunately, a certain double standard involved. They have given the Chinese a 90-day break, but the Chinese are importing far more Russian oil than we are. So clearly this has not been a particularly friendly gesture from a country we thought was well disposed towards us, an administration that we thought was well disposed," Tharoor told reporters.
Suggesting that tariffs also might signal how the friendly relations between India and the US have been affected, the Congress leader mentioned the possibility of "pressures within India" for imposing reciprocal tariffs on American exports to India.
"Very clearly, we have to act accordingly, and we will have to learn our lessons from this experience. I think there is certainly a likelihood that there will be some pressure within India now to impose comparable reciprocal tariffs on American exports to India. So I think we're going to have to really start looking at other trading partners much more in these circumstances," Tharoor mentioned.
"I don't think that's particularly good news for us and that takes our total tariffs to 50 per cent then that's going to make our goods unaffordable to a lot of people in America and in particularly when you're looking at these percentages you have to compare them with the tariffs being levied on some of our competitors," Tharoor told ANI.
Comparing the tariffs on other countries like Pakistan (19 pc), Bangladesh (20 pc), Philippines (19 pc), Indonesia (19), or even Vietnam (20 pc), the Congress leader said that this will effect Indian goods being bought in US, as people will look for the cheapest option.
"This means we need to very seriously diversify to other countries and other markets that may be interested in what we have to offer. We now have an FTA with the UK. We are talking to the EU. There are many countries in which hopefully we would be able to, but in the short term, it is definitely a blow," Tharoor told ANI.
US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on August 6 imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India. Trump cited matters of national security and foreign policy concerns, as well as other relevant trade laws, for the increase, claiming that India's imports of Russian oil, directly or indirectly, pose an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States.
Terming the United States' move to impose additional tariffs on India over its oil imports from Russia as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) declared that New Delhi will take "all actions necessary to protect its national interests.
"In an official statement, the MEA said, "The United States has in recent days targeted India's oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India."
"It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest," the statement added.