- Friday, April 04, 2025
Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had said the tariffs imposed by the US are going to “completely devastate” the Indian economy
By: India Weekly
CONGRESS party MPs on Friday (4) protested in Parliament House complex against the imposition of reciprocal tariffs or import duties by the US and demanded that the Modi government should answer on this issue in Parliament.
Congress and other opposition MPs raised the issue as the Lok Sabha proceedings began but with the treasury benches protesting Sonia Gandhi’s recent criticism of the government, the House was adjourned till 12 noon.
After that, Congress MPs along with some opposition leaders such as Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT) protested on the steps of the Makar Dwar of Parliament.
They also took out a march against the imposition of tariffs by the US and demanded that the government answer on the issue in Parliament.
The MPs raised slogans against the Modi government and the US dispensation’s move.
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had said the tariffs imposed by the US are going to “completely devastate” the Indian economy, particularly sectors like the auto industry, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.
The government of India must give answers as to what it is doing about the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on India, he demanded while speaking in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour on Thursday (3).
“Somebody once asked Indira Gandhi ji – ‘In the matter of foreign policy you lean left or you lean right’, and Indira Gandhi ji answered ‘I don’t lean left or right, I stand straight. I am Indian and I stand straight’,” Gandhi said.
Speaking to reporters in Parliament complex on Thursday (3), Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also took potshots at Modi, saying the imposition of additional tariff on India by the US shows that US leadership is a businessman and “our customer” fell into his trap.
“Their friendship of hugging, laughing, ‘once again Trump’ slogan shows that America is a businessman and our customer got trapped,” he said.
“We will issue a detail statement on behalf of the party on this issue,” Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said.
Congress MP Manish Tewari said the imposition of additional tariff is a “complete failure” of the negotiations between the government of India and the Trump administration.
“America has gone ahead and done what it wanted to do. Coupled with that you have the unfortunate situation where the visas of Indian students are being cancelled en masse. The government of India is not raising its voice,” he told PTI in Parliament complex on Thursday (3).
“It’s time the government develop a spine and start standing up for Indian interests and Indian people,” he added.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose hit out at the Modi government on the issue and said it will have its adverse impact on key sectors in India like textiles engineering and gems and jewelleries as well as on the fate of lakhs of people employed in these sectors.
“This a huge challenge for the Indian economy. Modi government is engaging in politics of destruction, politics of photo opportunity. The government should make a statement on how they intend to respond to this tariff war unleashed by President Donald Trump,” she told PTI.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor termed the imposition of tariff as “disturbing” and said it will affect “some of India’s exports” to the US which will “perhaps” become less competitive.
“The truth of the matter is as far as we are concerned, it’s one of the few major economies with which we have a positive trade balance. We are exporting (goods) worth about USD 74 billion to them and the export balance in our favour is about USD 45 billion. It’s not a small amount. If that goes down significantly, for naturally, it will affect our economy a bit,” he told PTI.
Tharoor said there is about a nine-month window to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement with the US.
“I think we have to see what kind of negotiations our people are able to conduct and how best we can use that window till September-October in order to get a more favourable outcome which may dilute some of these provisions,” he said.
“In the short term, the American consumers will also be hurt by all of this…The American consumers are going to have to pay more and that may perhaps create some pressure to reconsider the policy. Let’s see…,” he added.
The US has announced 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India, saying New Delhi imposes high import duties on American goods, as the Donald Trump administration aims to reduce the country’s trade deficit and boost manufacturing.
The move is expected to impact India’s exports to the US. However, experts say that India is better-placed than its competitors who also face increased levies.
President Trump, in a historic measure to counter higher duties on American products imposed globally, announced reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries. (PTI)
