Democrat Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi condemned President Donald Trump's recent tariffs on India as "misguided" and cautioned that they might unnecessarily strain US-India relations.
In a statement on Thursday, Krishnamoorthi claimed that the new tariffs would hurt economic, diplomatic, and security interests. "President Trump's most recent across-the-board tariffs on India are not just misplaced but also gravely detrimental to the US's economic, diplomatic, and security interests.
During a time when our friendship with India is more vital than ever to our common prosperity and mutual efforts to contain the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s military belligerence and economic blackmail, these tariffs unnecessarily stress our relationship with the world's biggest democracy," he said.
Krishnamoorthi, one of the five Indian-Americans in the US House of Representatives—along with Ro Khanna, Ami Bera, Shri Thanedar, and Pramila Jayapal—emphasized that while the US-India relationship continues to be strong, these tariffs would increase prices for American families and add to the burden of businesses in both nations.
Calling on Trump to change course, he added, "I strongly urge President Trump to roll back his destructive new tariffs, including the ones on Indian imports, and focus instead on the health of American families, the health of the US-India relationship, and our shared economic and national security against the threats of autocrats."
Trump's tariff policy, unveiled on Wednesday, applies a reciprocal system against nations with high import tariffs on US products or large trade surpluses. All imports into the US pay a standard 10 percent tariff, with individual higher rates against particular nations. Indian imports pay a 26 percent tariff, Chinese imports a 34 percent tariff, and EU imports a 20 percent tariff, among others.
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