'Trump tariff' on India misguided: Democrat Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi

Washington, April 4 (IANS) Democrat Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said on Thursday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs on India are “misguided” and are likely to place an unnecessary strain on the US relationship with the world’s largest democracy.

“President Trump’s latest blanket tariffs on India are not only misguided but also profoundly damaging to the economic, diplomatic, and security interests of the US. At a time when our partnership with India is more crucial than ever to our shared prosperity and coordinated efforts to counter the military aggression and economic coercion of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), these tariffs place an unnecessary strain on our relationship with the world’s largest democracy,” the Congressman said.

The Congressman is one of five Indian-descent members of the House of Representatives. The others are Ro Khanna, Ami Bera, Shri Thanedar and Pramila Jayapal. Krishnamoorthi.

The Congressman said that while the friendship between the US and India will remain strong, these new tariffs will increase costs for American families and place additional burdens on both American and Indian businesses.

“I strongly urge President Trump to reverse his harmful new tariffs, including those on Indian imports, and instead prioritise the well-being of American families, the strength of the US-India partnership, and our collective economic and national security in the face of authoritarian threats,” he said.

On Wednesday, President Trump rolled out a reciprocal tariff system that seeks to levy higher tariffs on trading partner countries that levy high duties on imports from the US or have huge trade surpluses over the US.

There is a baseline rate of 10 per cent that has been levied on all imports into the US. A large group of countries have been brought under individualised rates. Imports for India will be tariffed at 26 per cent. Imports from China will be levied at 34 per cent, 20 per cent for imports from the EU and so on and so forth.

--IANS

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