Congress MP Manish Tewari says Trump's tariff will not affect India

Donald Trump

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday said that tariffs announced by the US President will not make any real difference to India's strategic autonomy and will destroy larger fabric of the Indo-US engagement.

"Would @realDonaldTrump‘s Tariff threat make any difference to the strategic autonomy that we have built up over the decades and across different dispensations and administration’s - NOT REALLY. Would it damage the larger fabric of the Indo - US engagement- PERHAPS !," said Tewari in a post on X.

The @realDonaldTrump has perhaps given the biggest tribute to Indian strategic exceptionalism and strategic autonomy now stretching back to 1947. The Policy of Non alignment that was put in place by India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru now called multi alignment and… pic.twitter.com/lvlovI89c4

— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) July 30, 2025

The Congress leader presented a different view from other leaders from his party, who have held Centre responsible for these tariffs and said that this will have negative impact on Indian businesses.

Earlier, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said “all the applause and showmanship between Trump and Howdy Modi turned out to have no significant meaning”.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi thought that if he remained silent and did not respond to the insulting statements made by the American President about India—such as the claim made 30 times to stop Operation Sindoor, the special lunch for the Pakistan Army Chief, against the backdrop of whose provocative statement a brutal terrorist attack took place in Pahalgam, and America's support in securing financial packages for Pakistan from the IMF and World Bank—then perhaps India would receive some special concessions from President Trump,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

The Congress leader also said the PM should take inspiration from Indira Gandhi and “stand firm in front of the American President”.

US President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs and an additional penalty against India ahead of the August 1 deadline.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump described India as America's "friend" but added that it will face 25% tariffs plus a penalty for buying Russian military equipment and oil. The US President reiterated that India has among the "highest tariffs in the world".

"Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country," Trump said on his social media platform.

He hit out at India and China for dealing with Moscow at a time when "everyone wants Russia" to stop the war in Ukraine.

"Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!" he said.

He didn't specify how much extra penalty will be imposed over and above the tariffs.

Moments later, Trump posted that US has a massive trade deficit with India. "WE HAVE A MASSIVE TRADE DEFICIT WITH INDIA!!!"