Tharoor: Trump's Tariffs Impact India, Jobs Lost in Key Sectors

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has expressed his concerns over the tariffs imposed by the US, stating that they have significantly impacted India, leading to job losses. Speaking at a conference organized by CREDAI, India’s apex industry body for the real estate sector, Tharoor lashed out at American President Donald Trump, describing him as 'mercurial' and not adhering to conventional standards of diplomatic behavior.

US has imposed a 50 per cent tariff, including a 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil, on shipments from India. Tharoor emphasized that India needs to diversify its export markets to mitigate the impact of these tariffs. He highlighted that 1.35 lakh people have lost their jobs in the gems and jewelry business in Surat, and there are potential job losses in the seafood and manufacturing sectors.

“Mr Trump is a very mercurial individual, and the American system gives the President an amazing amount of leeway,” Tharoor said while addressing the conference. He continued, “Even though there have been 44 or 45 presidents before him, no one has ever seen this kind of behavior coming down from the White House.”

Tharoor described Trump as an 'unusual president' by every yardstick, noting that the US President does not honor the conventional standards of diplomatic behavior. “I mean, have you ever heard any world leader openly saying that he deserves a Nobel Peace prize? It never happened before. Have you heard of any world leader saying things like, ‘oh, all the countries in the world want to come and kiss my ass’,” Tharoor remarked.

Tharoor further criticized Trump's statements about India and Russia, saying, “Have you heard of any world leader who has basically said, India and Russia have dead economies. I don’t care if they go down the drain together.” He added that this kind of language is unprecedented from any head of government.

“Trump is unusual, and I would beg you not to judge our performance by his behavior,” Tharoor stated. On the impact of tariffs, he said, “The truth is that the tariffs have had a very negative impact on India. Already, people are losing jobs. 1.35 lakh people in Surat have been laid off in the gems and jewelry business, and there are potential job losses in the seafood and manufacturing sectors.”

Tharoor emphasized that the tariffs are hurting the Indian economy. “I don’t want anyone to have any illusions that we can just wash it up,” he said. He explained that the exports of many products became unviable due to the initial 25 per cent tariff and the additional penalty of 25 per cent, making it virtually impossible to enter the US market with Indian competitors having lower tariffs.

The Congress leader said that India has no choice but to tighten its belt and move on. “We are finding it very difficult to get into the American market. And I am pleased to say that we are actually negotiating, knowing very well that we need some access to America,” he said, adding that there are possibilities of a reduction in the initial basic 25 per cent tariff imposed by the US.

Tharoor also pointed out that the imposition of an additional 25 per cent is not a tariff but a sanction and is a sanction against India for buying oil from Russia. He said, “This entire sanction policy seems to be completely bizarre and unsustainable. But, anyway, until that sanction is removed, however successfully we negotiate a basic trade deal, we still have an enormous problem.”

Tharoor advocated for diversifying export markets and felt that the recent trade agreement with the UK would boost India’s exports. “Apart from exploring other export markets, we also have to diversify our lines of political communication to other countries. We can’t just afford to sit there and say we have no other option,” he said.

Tharoor mentioned that the Indian Prime Minister has recently visited China, and the Russian President is coming to India later this year. “We are essentially showing a serious intent at least to move away from confrontation conversation with China. Even though we’ve had some very, very tough times in that relationship, I think we will find ourselves trying to open up very much more for China than we have done in the last 5-6 years,” he said.

On Russia, Tharoor said the relationship was always reasonably stable and it might become “warmer” now. He advocated that India should find common cause with European countries and try to create an Indo-European pole, which would have some clout and heft in the world.

More than 1,000 delegates, including real estate developers and consultants, are attending a three-day conference CREDAI-NATCON in Singapore.