Shashi Tharoor slams Trump’s tariff policy, warns of mounting job losses in export sectors

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has strongly criticised US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, warning that the sanctions have already dealt a severe blow to India’s export-driven industries and triggered significant job losses, PTI reported. Speaking at the CREDAI-NATCON conference in Singapore on Friday, Tharoor called Trump “mercurial” and “unusual by every yardstick,” accusing him of disregarding long-standing norms of international diplomacy.

The United States has recently imposed a 50% tariff on Indian shipments, including a punitive 25% penalty for India’s purchase of Russian oil. According to Tharoor, the impact has been immediate and damaging. “Already, people are losing jobs. In Surat alone, 1.35 lakh workers in the gems and jewellery business have been laid off, with the seafood and manufacturing sectors also taking a hit,” he said.

Tharoor argued that while tariffs are challenging on their own, the additional penalty functions as a sanction specifically targeting India for its energy trade with Russia. “That’s totally unfair, because China imports far more oil and gas from Russia and faces no such sanctions. This selective approach is bizarre and unsustainable,” he remarked.

Beyond the economic costs, Tharoor painted a picture of Trump as a disruptive figure in world politics. “No previous American president has spoken like this, claiming he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, mocking India and Russia as ‘dead economies,’ or making statements unbecoming of global leadership. He simply does not honour the conventional standards of diplomatic behaviour,” Tharoor said.

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Looking ahead, Tharoor stressed that India must urgently diversify both its export markets and diplomatic alignments. He pointed to the recent trade agreement with the United Kingdom as a positive step, while urging stronger engagement with Europe, Russia, and even China despite historical tensions. “We cannot afford to sit back and rely solely on the American market. We must create new poles of influence, perhaps an Indo-European axis, that can give us economic clout and political heft,” he said.

Tharoor acknowledged ongoing negotiations with Washington that may reduce the basic tariff, but cautioned that as long as sanctions linked to Russian oil imports remain, India will face “enormous problems” accessing the American market.

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