NEW DELHI: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said that US President Donald Trump’s imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil was a result of the Narendra Modi government’s “foreign policy disaster.”
Taking a jibe at PM Modi, Kharge said he can’t even blame the 70 years of Congress rule for this.
In a lengthy social media post on X, Kharge also stressed that any country that arbitrarily penalises India doesn’t understand the steel frame it is made of.
“India’s national interest is supreme. Any nation that arbitrarily penalises India for our time-tested policy of strategic autonomy, which is embedded in the ideology of non-alignment, doesn’t understand the steel frame India is made of,” he said.
“From the threats of the 7th Fleet to the sanctions of nuclear tests, we have navigated our relationship with the US with self-respect and dignity,” Kharge added.
Kharge further stated that Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs come at a time when the country’s diplomacy is “disastrously dithering.”
He said that despite knowing about Trump’s plan to impose reciprocal tariffs, the government did nothing to cushion the blow on key sectors.
“Trump has been planning ‘RECIPROCAL TARIFFS’ for months now. We all knew about it. You did nothing in the Union Budget to soften the blow on our key sectors such as agriculture, MSMEs, and various industries,” he said.
The Congress chief also slammed the Modi government for its failure to negotiate a trade deal with the US.
“Your ministers have been talking about negotiating a trade deal with America for months. Some of them even camped in Washington for several days. You failed to negotiate a trade deal with the US. You had more than 6 months,” he said.
He further added, “Your Govt is clueless about how to deal with it. You can’t even blame this FOREIGN POLICY DISASTER on the 70 years of Congress!!”
The scathing remarks of the Congress president came a day after Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25 per cent tariffs on India, penalising the country for its import of Russian Federation oil.
This took the total tariffs on Indian imports to the United States to 50 per cent – the highest among the major US trade partners.
While the previous 25 per cent tariffs Trump imposed last month became effective from today itself, the additional 25 per cent will be applicable in 21 days, from August 27.
Agencies