Tariffs place unnecessary strain on US-India ties: Congressman Krishnamoorthi

New York, Apr 4 (PTI) Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi condemned the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on India, saying the levies place an "unnecessary strain" on Washington’s relationship with Delhi at a time when the bilateral partnership is crucial to counter China’s military aggression and economic coercion.

“President Trump’s latest blanket tariffs on India are not only misguided but also profoundly damaging to the economic, diplomatic, and security interests of the United States,” Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat lawmaker from Illinois, said in a statement on Thursday.

Krishnamoorthi condemned Trump’s 26 per cent tariff on Indian imports for disrupting economic and security partnerships between the two democracies.

“At a time when our partnership with India is more crucial than ever to our shared prosperity and coordinated efforts to counter the military aggression and economic coercion of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), these tariffs place an unnecessary strain on our relationship with the world’s largest democracy,” he said.

He noted that while the friendship between the United States and India will remain strong, these new tariffs will increase costs for American families and place additional burdens on both American and Indian businesses.

Krishnamoorthi strongly urged Trump to “reverse his harmful new tariffs, including those on Indian imports, and instead prioritize the well-being of American families, the strength of the US-India partnership, and our collective economic and national security in the face of authoritarian threats.” Trump on Wednesday announced a 26 per cent “discounted reciprocal tariff” on India, half of the 52 per cent levies imposed by India on American goods, as he described India as “very, very tough.” As he announced the tariffs, Trump held up a chart that showed the tariffs that countries such as India, China, the European Union, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan levy on US products and the reciprocal levies that these countries will now have to pay.

On India, the chart showed that the country charged 52 per cent tariffs to the US “including currency manipulation and trade barriers,” and America will now charge India “discounted reciprocal tariffs” of 26 per cent.

“India, very, very tough. Very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left. He's a great friend of mine, but I said, ‘You're a friend of mine, but you're not treating us right.’ They charge us 52 per cent. You have to understand, we charge them almost nothing, for years and years and decades, and it was only seven years ago, when I came in, we started with China and we took in hundreds of billions of dollars from China in tariffs,” Trump had said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Washington, D.C., in February, less than a month after Trump took the oath of office and began his second term in the White House as President.

The executive order on reciprocal tariffs signed by Trump also mentions the duties charged by India on American products.

“…while World Trade Organisation (WTO) Members agreed to bind their tariff rates on a most-favoured-nation (MFN) basis, and thereby provide their best tariff rates to all WTO Members, they did not agree to bind their tariff rates at similarly low levels or to apply tariff rates on a reciprocal basis.

“Consequently, according to the WTO, the United States has among the lowest simple average MFN tariff rates in the world at 3.3 per cent, while many of our key trading partners, like Brazil (11.2 per cent), China (7.5 per cent), the European Union (EU) (5 percent), India (17 per cent), and Vietnam (9.4 per cent), have simple average MFN tariff rates that are significantly higher,” the executive order said.

It added that these average MFN tariff rates conceal much larger discrepancies across economies in tariff rates applied to particular products.

“For example, the United States imposes a 2.5 per cent tariff on passenger vehicle imports (with internal combustion engines), while the European Union (10 per cent), India (70 per cent), and China (15 per cent) impose much higher duties on the same product. For network switches and routers, the United States imposes a 0% tariff, but for similar products, India (10 per cent) levies a higher rate.

“Brazil (18 per cent) and Indonesia (30 per cent) impose a higher tariff on ethanol than does the United States (2.5 per cent). For rice in the husk, the US MFN tariff is 2.7 per cent (ad valorem equivalent), while India (80 per cent), Malaysia (40 per cent), and Turkey (an average of 31 per cent) impose higher rates. Apples enter the United States duty-free, but not so in Turkey (60.3 per cent) and India (50 per cent),” the executive order said.

Soon after Trump announced the sweeping reciprocal tariffs from the Rose Garden in the White House, Krishnamoorthi had called the blanket tariffs a “tax” imposed by Trump on working families so that the US President can cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans.

“These latest so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs are reckless and self-destructive, inflicting financial pain on Illinois at a time when people are already struggling to keep their small businesses afloat and put food on the table,” he had said.

Krishnamoorthi said the tariffs isolate the United States on the global stage, alienate America’s allies, and empower its adversaries – all while forcing America’s seniors and working families to bear the brunt of higher prices.

Urging Americans to call on Trump to end his “disastrous" tariff policies before he sends the country into a recession, Krishnamoorthi had said the tariffs do nothing to strengthen the American economy or national security. PTI YAS ARD ARD

Source: PTI