Shashi Tharoor expresses concern over US tariffs' impact on India-US automobile trade

ANI April 3, 2025 192 views

US President Donald Trump's recent announcement of import tariffs has sparked concern among Indian politicians, with Shashi Tharoor highlighting potential negative impacts on bilateral trade. Tharoor specifically pointed out the vulnerability of automobile parts trade, suggesting that both American manufacturers and consumers could be adversely affected. The tariffs, which stand at 26% for India, have been criticized as potentially disruptive to ongoing economic partnerships. Despite the challenging rhetoric, Tharoor remains optimistic that trade negotiations in the coming months could lead to a more balanced and mutually beneficial agreement.

"We are not selling many automobiles in America, but automobile parts are a major factor" - Shashi Tharoor, ANI
New Delhi, April 3: Following US President Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor highlighted how the tariffs could affect the automobile sector, particularly the trade of automobile parts.

Key Points

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Trump announces 26% tariff on Indian imports

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Tharoor warns of negative consequences for manufacturers

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Hopes for favorable trade negotiations by September-October

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Calls for balanced trade relations

Tharoor also expressed optimism that trade negotiations over the coming months can lead to a more favorable agreement.

Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, "We are not selling many automobiles in America, but automobile parts are a major factor and that would be affected, and the first victims are going to be American manufacturers who would be buying Indian parts. So that's not very good for us, that's not very good for them, and that's not very good for the American consumers."

He added, "I hope that in the negotiations over the next nine months, we have time till September-October for a trade agreement, I hope that our negotiators will do a good job in trying to get something better than this."

Trump announced new import tariffs on Wednesday (local time), outlining the rates to be imposed on countries around the world, with India facing a 26 per cent tariff.

Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "great friend," Trump said that India charges the US 52 per cent, and "we charge them almost nothing."

Trump's announcement came while he addressed the Make America Wealthy Again Event.

At the event, 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 we charge them almost nothing..."

Trump further said, "The United States charges other countries only a 2.4 tariff on motorcycles. Meanwhile, Thailand and others are charging much higher prices like 60%, India charges 70%, Vietnam charges 75% and others are even higher than that."

The US President further said that a 25 per cent tariff would be imposed on all foreign-made automobiles.

"Such horrendous imbalances have devastated our industrial base and put our national security at risk. I don't blame these other countries at all for this calamity. I blame former presidents and past leaders who weren't doing their job... Effective at midnight, we will impose a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles," Trump said.

The import tariffs on other major countries are China (34 per cent), European Union (20 per cent), Vietnam (46 per cent), Taiwan (32 per cent), Japan (24 per cent), India (26 per cent), United Kingdom (10 per cent), Bangladesh (37 per cent), Pakistan (29 per cent), Sri Lanka (44 per cent), Israel (17 per cent).

Reader Comments

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Priya K.
Tharoor makes some valid points about how tariffs hurt both sides. Trade wars never benefit consumers in the long run. Hope the negotiators can find a middle ground 🤞
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Rahul S.
Interesting analysis but I wish he'd addressed Trump's point about India's high tariffs too. We can't just complain about US tariffs when our own rates are much higher. Fair trade goes both ways.
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Anjali M.
The auto parts industry employs so many people here! This could really hurt our manufacturing sector if not resolved soon. 😟
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Vikram P.
Trump's "Make America Wealthy Again" slogan is getting old. Protectionist policies might help in short term but history shows they backfire eventually. Global trade needs cooperation, not confrontation.
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Sunita R.
I appreciate Tharoor's balanced approach - acknowledging the problem while remaining hopeful about negotiations. We need more politicians who can discuss trade issues without resorting to nationalism.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Tags:
Shashi Tharoor Trump Tariffs India-US Trade Automobile Parts Economic Diplomacy
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