New Delhi [India], August 28 : Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary D Raja on Thursday called the US's 50 per cent tariff on India a tariff war against a sovereign nation and urged the Centre to pursue its own independent economic and foreign policies.
"Our party, the Communist Party of India, strongly condemns what the Trump administration is doing as far as the tariff is concerned. It is nothing but a tariff war on sovereign independent nations in the world," Raja told ANI.
"How can he dictate whether India should buy oil from Russia or not? It is for India to decide from which countries it can import, to which countries it can export, and what its policy should be. It is for the government of India to decide. We are a sovereign nation. We are not just a stooge of American imperialist power. Mr Modi should stand up and speak out, condemning what the Trump administration is doing...India should stand up and pursue its own independent economic and foreign policy matters," the CPI leader said.
Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin reiterated his demands to the Centre for immediate relief and structural reforms to safeguard industries and workers as US tariff hike to 50 per cent has hit Tamil Nadu's exports hard, especially Tiruppur's textile hub.
"The USTariff hike to 50 per cent has hit Tamil Nadu's exports hard, especially Tiruppur's textile hub, causing a trade impact of nearly Rs. 3,000 crore and putting thousands of jobs at risk," Stalin said in a post on X.
"I reiterate my demands to the Union Government for immediate relief and structural reforms to safeguard our industries and workers," he said.
On August 16, Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the considerable impact of the United States' tariffs on Tamil Nadu, including the threat of layoffs in export-oriented sectors, and urged the Centre to take immediate measures, including providing a special financial relief package to support exporters.
Meanwhile, K.M. Subramanian, president of the Tiruppur Exporters' Association, told ANI that the knitwear exporters in Tirupur who rely entirely on the US for their exports--constituting about 10 percent of the total--will be the most affected by the tariff hike.
"Tirupur is one of India's main knitwear export hubs. This cluster exported goods worth Rs. 45,000 crore last financial year. We provide job opportunities for one million people, 65 per cent of whom are women. The US's 50 per cent tariff was a shock to knitwear exporters," Subramanian told ANI.