'Attempt to Bully India': Rahul Gandhi on Trump's Tariffs
Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi in a sharp response called American President Donald Trump’s tariffs on India ‘economic blackmailing’ and ‘an attempt to bully’ the country
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi in a sharp response called American President Donald Trump’s tariffs on India ‘economic blackmailing’ and ‘an attempt to bully’ the country.
Rahul Gandhi was responding to the U.S. move to impose 50% levy on goods imported from India.
"Trump’s 50% tariff is economic blackmail - an attempt to bully India into an unfair trade deal", the Congress MP said in a social media post.
In the same post, Rahul also urged the Modi government to make sure that India's interests remain its priority.
"PM Modi better not let his weakness override the interests of the Indian people", Rahul said.
"Unfair, Extremely Unfortunate"
In its response, the Narendra Modi government called Trump's latest tariffs "unfair" and "extremely unfortunate".
"We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India", the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
"It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest. We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable", the Ministry said.
"Adani Link"
In another post, Rahul had linked the case against Gautam Adani with the Trump imposed tariff war on India.
"The reason PM Modi cannot stand up to President Trump despite his repeated threats is the ongoing U.S. investigation into Adani", Rahul wrote on social media platform X.
A U.S. Court in New York has issued warrants against Gautam Adani and a hearing on the matter is slated for August 11, 2025.
Consequently, the Union Law Ministry instructed a District Court in Ahmedabad to deliver the summons issued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to Adani. The court is yet to take action.
Meanwhile, Gautam Adani, in a sudden and curious move, announced to step down as Adani Ports Executive Chairman.
Trump's Tariff War
U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday August 06, 2025 signed an Executive Order imposing 25 per cent additional tariffs on goods imported from India, taking the total to more than 50 per cent.
Trump cited "national emergency" and "India Russia oil trade" as the reasons behind his latest move.
"I find the Government of India is currently - directly or indirectly, importing Russian Federation oil... In my judgement, I determine it necessary to impose an ad valorem duty on imports of articles from India", Trump wrote in the Executive Order signed earlier today.
Trump explained that Russia’s continued military actions in Ukraine constituted a “national emergency” and it was therefore “necessary and appropriate” to place heightened tariffs on India, a major consumer of its petroleum products.
Trump had on July 30 imposed 25% tariff and penalty of unknown amount on India effective August 01, 2025.
The U.S. tariff against India announced by Trump today makes it 20 % more than China and 31% more than Pakistan. With the latest levies, India also became one of the countries facingthe highest tariffs for exporting goods to the United States.
The Trump tariffs against India is considered a major setback as the country has trade surplus with the United States.
India had earlier called Trump's decision to impose additional tariffs and objection on its trade with Russia "unjustified and unreasonable".
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