'Emperor of Maladies' v 'Maharaja of Tariffs'

Time of India

a day ago

TOI correspondent from Washington:
Dubbing India the "Maharaja of Tariffs," US Donald Trump's minions are unloading on New Delhi amid growing signs that beyond the trade dispute, the MAGA supremo is jettisoning stated US objective voiced by three previous presidents of supporting the rise of India as a counterweight to China.
In scabrous remarks to reporters, Trump's trade counselor Peter Navarro on Thursday accused India of using US dollars to buy oil from Russia, which in turn "uses those dollars from India to finance weapons to kill Ukrainians and American taxpayers are being asked to pay for weapons to defend Ukraine from Russian weapons bought with US dollars from India."
"This has to stop. This math doesn't work. The president understands the connection between economic and national security.
So that was the crux of the matter," Navarro said, rationalizing the 50 percent tariff on Indian exports.
Navarro's dodgy logic was called out by reporters who asked why in that case Beijing, which buys more Russian oil than India does, was not being penalized, leading him to make a key admission: The US is under the cosh when it comes to China and "we don't want to hurt ourselves" with higher tariffs.
"As the boss says, we'll see what happens.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Back Pain Treatments That Might Surprise You!
Back Pain Treatment | Search Ads
Undo
Remember, we already have over 50% tariffs on China, okay?" Navarro said, leaving a small opening for a resolution.
Navarro, a convicted felon who served time in prison and faked quotes for his book from a fictitious expert named "Ron Vara" (an anagram of his own name), is known as Trump's "trade whisperer" who echoes his boss' faith in tariffs.
But he went way over the top alleging "we send a lot of dollars to India to buy their goods on unfair trade terms...
India then uses US dollars to buy Russian oil."
A knowledgeable Indian analyst who declined to go on record rubbished the "absurd" claim, saying India earns US dollars through "legitimate exports, not charity." Furthermore, India used those dollars to buy American products and goods, including armaments, he added, pointing out that the US is India's top trading partner, while Russia only ranks fourth.
"Not to forget India buys Russian oil with a mix of currencies including rupees," he noted.
New Delhi has also contested Trump's claims that India hits the US with some of the highest tariffs in the world, pointing out that he makes similar claims against Canada, even as India has brought down tariffs on a range of US exports. As for charges of non-tariff barriers imposed by India, officials say the US too has similar barriers, such as Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, to protect its domestic industry.
While some analysts are positing that Trump's crackdown on India is a negotiating tactic, matters appear to have gone beyond that with Trump officials implicitly characterising India as a national security threat.
India's quick responses, including outreach to Russia, China, and Brazil, has also triggered concerns in the strategic community that the Trump White House is alienating New Delhi and pushing it firmly into the BRICS group which the US President is trying to dismantle with a divide and rule approach.
Notably, Trump has taken punitive measures against the two democracies in the group while holding fire against China.
On Friday, a day after he talked to Brazil's President Lula, a post by PM Modi on X spoke of "a good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin," and conspicuously said they "reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership."
"I look forward to hosting President Putin in India later this year," the post concluded in an implicit rebuff to Trump.
The US President was expected to visit India in September-November window for the Quad summit -- a trip that looks doomed unless there is a swift change in the situation.
Stay informed with the latest
business
news, updates on
bank holidays
,
public holidays
, current
gold rate
and
silver price
.