'Govt should take public into confidence': Shashi Tharoor as US slaps 26% tariffs on India

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. (File photo)

As the Trump's administration imposed 26 percent tariffs on India, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor said that the "government should clarify its stand" and should take "public into confidence".

While speaking News18 outside the Parliament, Shashi Tharoor said, "Congress wants clarification from the government about what was going on. We are reading in newspapers about the Americans demanding that India should lower tariffs on agriculture products and so on. This raises some real questions. Because our farmers are in a bad shape already. We have seen the farmers protests. Does the government has a stand on agriculture tariffs?"

#BreakingNews | Amid Congress' protest over reciprocal tariffs on US, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor demands government to clear stand of tariffs@AmanKayamHai_ shares more details #Trumptariff#Congress#Tariffs | @akankshaswarupspic.twitter.com/nx5CYmFdmZ

News18 (@CNNnews18) April 4, 2025

"The Congress party's request was to get the Prime Minister or some senior minister to clarify the stand of the government on these demands as there is very little coming out of the government so far. I can partially understand that because some negotiation is supposed to be ongoing but some basic principles that the nation can be reassured by would have been welcomed," Tharoor added.

When asked about whether there was a silver lining as the tariffs on India are lower than countries like China and Vietnam, Tharoor told News18, "Calculations have to be done. Some countries that are competing with us for the same export market have tariffs higher than us. This may represent opportunities for Indian manufacturers. But there are other areas where we will be at a disadvantage, where our competition maybe with countries that are only charged 10% tariffs. So, all of these calculations have to be made. It will be helpful that government takes the public into confidence into some of these things."

United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a major tariff package imposing duties on more than 180 countries, calling them 'kind' and 'discounted'. Announced in the White House Rose Garden, the move marked one of the most extensive trade actions by the US in decades, reversing years of trade liberalisation.

The sweeping duties, which drew bewildered criticism from longtime US allies, many of whom were caught off guard by the unexpectedly high rates, are most likely to erect new trade barriers around the world's largest consumer economy, reshaping global trade dynamics.

Labelling them as "discounted reciprocal tariffs", Trump explained that the US would respond to China's 67 per cent tariff with a 34 per cent duty on Chinese imports. While 26 percent tariffs were imposed on India.

Calling PM Modi a “great friend”, Trump said, “India very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left and is a great friend of mine, but you are not treating us right. They charge us 52 per cent, and wecharge them almost nothing…”