Modi faces opposition fury after Trump's 25% tariff threat
The 25% rate would single out India more harshly than other major trading partners and threatens to unravel months of talks, undermining one of Washington's strategic partners in the region, viewed as a counterbalance to China.
Trump said the tariff on goods imports from India would start from Friday, in addition to an unspecified penalty for Russian dealings and involvement in the Brics grouping of nations, but added later that trade talks continued.
In response, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was studying the implications of Trump's remarks and was dedicated to securing a fair trade deal.
'This development reflects a broader collapse of foreign policy under the Modi government,' a legislator of the main opposition Congress said in a notice asking for a discussion of the matter in the lower house.
The debate would focus on the 'government's economic and diplomatic failure in preventing the imposition of 25% US tariffs plus penalties on Indian exports,' it added.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal is expected to brief the lower house later on Thursday, TV news channels said.
Economists warned the steep tariff could hurt India's manufacturing ambitions and trim up to 40 basis points from economic growth in the financial year to March 2026.
India's benchmark equity indices, the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex, fell about 0.6% each, while the rupee declined to 87.74, its lowest in more than five months, before paring losses.
India has received a 'raw deal', said Priyanka Kishore, an economist at Asia Decoded.
'While further trade talks may bring the tariff rate down, it appears unlikely that India will secure a significantly better outcome than its eastern neighbours,' she added.
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