New Delhi [India], August 7: Following United States President Donald Trump's imposition of an additional 25 per cent tariff on India over its purchase of Russian oil, Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad on Thursday criticised Trump, stating that his threat would not impact India's economy or unity and urged the government to table a resolution condemning the statement in Parliament.
Speaking to ANI, Prasad said, "This is not right. His threat will not weaken our country's economy, development, or the thread of unity in diversity. Trump has some major misunderstandings somewhere. I want the government to present a proposal of warning and condemnation against him in the House and warn him that our flag has pride and recognition in the world, so he should not threaten us in any way."
In a recent development, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said, "We oppose this economic burden that Trump has imposed on India because it will affect our exports. We just want to say that the tariff imposed by America should be withdrawn."
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 further development, a senior United States Administration Official told ANI that there is simply "no comparison" between the hundreds of billions of dollars of growing Indian imports of Russian oil and the modest US imports of Russian goods.
In response to a question, the US official told ANI, "There is simply no comparison between the hundreds of billions of dollars of growing Indian imports of Russian oil, and the modest U.S. imports of Russian goods, which amount to less than 1% of the value of Indian imports".