Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday described the 25 per cent tariff announced by US President Donald Trump on Indian goods as a “very serious” development that could severely harm India’s trade relationship with the United States.“It’s a very serious matter for us,” Tharoor told news agency ANI.“A 25% tariff, along with an unspecified penalty for buying oil and gas from Russia, could take the effective rate to 35–45%. There’s even talk of a 100% penalty, that would destroy our trade with America.”Tharoor noted that trade negotiations are currently underway and expressed hope that the tariffs might be reduced. “If they aren’t, it will damage our exports, America is a very big market for us,” he said.He also stressed the need for the US to acknowledge India’s trade requirements and the relative balance of tariff structures. “Our tariffs on American goods average around 17% , they’re not that unreasonable,” he said. “American products are also not competitively priced for the Indian market. If the US makes completely unreasonable demands, our negotiators have every right to push back.”
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