Trump's 50 pc tariff: India says it's unfair and unreasonable
The Ministry of External Affairs said officially that New Delhi will take necessary steps to protect the country's national interest
Reacting strongly to President Donald Trump's new 25% trade tariff, India called the decision "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable". The move, which follows a warning over India's oil purchases from Russia, raising the total tariff to 50%.
Also read: Trump imposes 50 pc tariff on Indian goods over Russian oil imports
'Extremely unfortunate'
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official release that the US has targeted India’s oil imports from Russia and called the decision “extremely unfortunate”.
The MEA said, “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. 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.”
The MEA added, "We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable."
It said that New Delhi will take all necessary actions to protect the country's national interests.
Earlier, the mercurial US president called the move to increase the tariff as a "punishment" for India's continued oil purchases from its old ally Russia.
A White House release quoted him as saying that New Delhi was currently importing crude oil from Moscow, as a result of which an additional 25 per cent tariff would be imposed on Indian goods entering the US.