US Democrats panel slammed Trump tariffs on India, says move hurt Americans
By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON –US House Foreign Affairs Committee democrats on Thursday have slammed US President Donald Trump over his decision to impose 50 per cent tariffs on India for purchasing Russian Federation oil, saying the move is hurting the Americans.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday had doubled the tariffs on Indian imports to the United States, accused New Delhi of sponsoring Moscow’s war in Ukraine by purchasing discounted Russian Federation oil.
The House committee responsible for foreign policy legislation and oversight said instead of imposing sanctions on China and other countries purchasing larger amounts of discounted Russian oil, Trump’s move to single out India with tariffs is hurting Americans and sabotaging the India-US relationship.
Democrats in the House committee said on X “Instead of imposing sanctions on China or others purchasing larger amounts of Russian oil, Trump’s singling out India with tariffs, hurting Americans & sabotaging the US-India relationship in the process.”
Democrats in the US House Foreign Affairs Committee said that the targeting of India is “almost like it’s not about Ukraine at all.”
Trump’s administration initiated a 25% “reciprocal” tariff on Indian imports, aimed at addressing trade imbalances and stalled negotiations.
He imposed an additional 25% tariff was imposed as a punitive measure for India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, raising the cumulative tariff level to 50%.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the current India-US relationship is “complicated” but the two countries – one the largest democracy and the other the largest economy “will come together at the end of the day.”
He asserted that India’s purchase of Russian oil is not the only factor affecting the relationship between the two countries, but also the slow progress of the trade deal.
“This is a complicated relationship. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have a very good relationship at that level. It’s not just over the Russian oil. The Indians came in early after Liberation Day to start negotiating on tariffs, and we still don’t have a deal. I thought we would have a deal in May or June. I thought India could be one of the earlier deals, and they kind of tapped us along in terms of the negotiations, and then there is also the aspect of the Russian crude purchases, which they’ve been profiteering on,” Bessent said in an interview with the news outlet Fox Business.
Both nations were said to be in the final stage of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement before Trump abruptly announced tariffs on India.
New Delhi has expressed its willingness to go ahead with the trade deal, it has drawn several red lines, particularly concerning the interests of farmers and small producers.
