'Will take steps necessary to secure national interest': India responds to Trump's tariff announcement
In its first response after Donald Trump's surprise announcement of a 25 percent tariff on goods exported from India to the US along with a 'penalty', the Centre has said it is studying the implications of the move and will take all steps to "secure our national interest".
In a measured statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said it has taken note of the announcement and stressed that India remains committed to negotiating a fair bilateral trade agreement with the United States.
It also mentioned that negotiations on the trade deal have been going on for months.
"The Government has taken note of a statement by the US President on bilateral trade. The Government is studying its implications. India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective," the ministry said in the statement on Wednesday evening.
Stressing that the Centre places the "utmost importance on protecting and promoting the welfare of" farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), the ministry also made a reference to the recently concluded free trade agreement with the United Kingdom.
"The Government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, as has been the case with other trade agreements, including the latest Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the UK," it added.
This comes after US President Donald Trump announced that India will pay 25 percent tariffs from August 1.
In his Truth Social post, Trump said: "Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country."
He further said: "Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!"
Trump announced that apart from the tariffs, India will also need to pay a penalty.
However, he did not mention the amount India need to pay as a penalty.
"INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!" he said.
Trump said the US has a massive trade deficit with India.
He announced the tariff rate days after days of suspense over it.
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