"Coercive tactics": Swadeshi Jagran Manch slams US tariff threats, backs India's independent trade ties

New Delhi [India], August 1 (ANI): The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) has strongly reacted to recent statements by US President Donald Trump threatening "unspecified penalties" over India's growing trade and defence ties with Russia.
In a press release, the organisation described these threats, including the imposition of a 25% tariff hike, as coercive tactics that India must firmly resist.
SJM reaffirmed India's right to independently procure defence equipment and secure affordable crude oil, highlighting their essential role in ensuring national security and containing inflation. The Manch asserted that India's strategic choices cannot be dictated by foreign pressure, especially in the context of its emergence as a global power -- a status it says was "decisively demonstrated during Operation Sindoor."
Calling out the outdated "unipolar worldview" of the US, SJM emphasized the need for the world to adopt a cooperative, multipolar trade order. It criticised the US decision to target a strategic partner like India at a time when global efforts should instead be focused on countering China's disruptive control over rare earth exports and global value chains.
The Swadeshi Jagran Manch commended the Indian Government's firm position in the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the US. Despite pressure to concede on sensitive issues--such as genetically modified (GM) agricultural products, dairy imports, deregulation of medical devices, and unrestricted data flows--India has resisted, maintaining its policy priorities on food security, biodiversity, and data localisation.
The Manch warned that the US has increasingly sought to bypass WTO rules by invoking "reciprocity" in a non-trade context, a strategy that undermines fair negotiations.
It reaffirmed that "India's approach to trade must protect farmers, small-scale industries, and long-term economic self-reliance. Indian exports will continue to thrive on a mutually beneficial basis, regardless of the fate of the FTA."
Highlighting the importance of reducing dependency on traditional trade partners, SJM urged the Indian Government to deepen ties with Latin America, Africa, the expanded BRICS alliance, and the Global South. While acknowledging the US as India's largest trading partner, the group cautioned against allowing trade to become a tool of pressure.
Ashwani Mahajan, National Co-Convener of SJM, concluded by urging the government to stay the course in defending national interest, upholding strategic autonomy, and accelerating efforts towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat. He reiterated that any short-term trade setbacks would ultimately serve to reinforce India's resolve to become self-reliant in critical sectors. (ANI)