Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 1 : Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday criticised the Indian government's response to US President Donald Trump's remarks on India's economy and the recent imposition of 25% tariffs on Indian goods.
Chavan urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to respond strictly to Trump's comments, questioning whether Trump is lying.
"Trump needs to be answered strictly by PM Narendra Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman. How can the Indian PM and citizens be insulted like this? The government is not ready to answer, which is why Rahul Gandhi raises the issue and asks them to respond to Is Trump lying?" What does it mean that the economy is dead? The central government is not giving any answer," Prithviraj Chavan told ANI.
Chavan attributed the imposition of tariffs to the failure of India's foreign policy under the current government. He questioned the effectiveness of PM Modi's diplomatic efforts, highlighting his frequent meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the lavish programs organised for Trump's visit.
He said, "This is the failure of India's foreign policy. 'My friend Trump' and welcoming Trump were a failure. PM Modi lacks a clear understanding of foreign policy. He believes that personal friendships can lead to more successful foreign policies. PM Modi met Xi Jinping 18 times. What happened? Doklam took place. Huge programs organised for Trump, what happened? PM Modi does not understand that the country must defend itself on global grounds."
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday made a shocking statement on his social media platform Truth Social after the announcement of 25 per cent tariffs against India and threatened an additional "penalty" for importing Russian oil.
"I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India; their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world." Trump said.
Trump signed a fresh executive order imposing revised tariffs for 70 countries, including India and Pakistan, in a move that is expected to strain global trade relations further.
Tariffs imposed on India's neighbouring countries are less than India's 25 per cent, except for Myanmar at 40 per cent. The new tariffs for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, and Sri Lanka are 19%, 15%, 20%, 19%, 15%, and 20%, respectively.
The new tariffs, outlined in a sweeping order signed on Friday (IST), will come into effect from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 7.
The executive order states that the revised tariffs are aimed at addressing the national emergency declared earlier under Executive Order 14257.
Trump noted that he had "recently received, among other things", new information and had determined it "necessary and appropriate" to impose additional ad valorem duties on the goods of certain trading partners.
These new duties will replace those previously imposed under the same order, as amended.
Other countries on which the US imposed tariffs are higher than India include Iraq (35 per cent), Laos (40 per cent), Libya (30 per cent), Serbia (35 per cent), South Africa (30 per cent), Switzerland (39 per cent), and Syria (41 per cent).
Countries that imposed lower tariffs than India include the UK (10 per cent), Vietnam (20 per cent), Taiwan (20 per cent ), and South Korea (15 per cent), to name a few.
The order by Trump stated, "I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14257 by imposing additional ad valorem duties on goods of certain trading partners".The executive order further directs that these changes will apply to goods entering the US for consumption or withdrawn from warehouses on or after the effective date.
However, goods already in transit before the deadline, loaded on vessels and en route before August 7 and entering the US before October 5, 2025, will not be subjected to the revised duties but will instead continue under the previously applicable tariff rates under the amended Executive Order 14257.
The government told the Parliament on Thursday that it is examining the impact of the recent events and will take all necessary steps to safeguard the national interest.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal made a statement in the lower House of Parliament a day after Trump announced the tariff. He later made a similar statement in the Rajya Sabha.
Goyal said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is holding talks with exporters, industries and all stakeholders and gathering information on their assessment of this issue.