Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed the United States for imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for buying Russian oil, terming it "economic blackmail" to bully New Delhi into an unfair trade deal.
"Look, India and Russia have a very old relationship. And Russia is a trusted friend of ours. If we're importing oil from Russia, the reason for that is that we have to look at our oil security in our agriculture sector and transport sector. And it is not that we are doing it only through Ru
"It is disappointing to see additional tariffs being announced at a time when we are actively working towards resolving the earlier differences and to strengthen our trade relationship through a trade agreement. Announcing another 25% tariff places unnecessary strain on the trade environment
"I think he (Trump) is continuing on this irrational path. This is driven by a certain kind of personal antagonism, more than any reasonable negotiation, discussion or policy," Trigunayat told ANI.
"Two strong steps we can take today are: 1. Radically Improve Ease of Doing Business --India must go beyond incremental reform and create a genuinely effective single-window clearance system for all investment proposals. --While states control many investment regulations, we can begin wit
"We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable. India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests," the MEA said.
After the order, the total tariff on Indian goods will be 50 per cent. While the initial duty becomes effective on August 7, the additional levy will come into effect after 21 days and will be imposed on all Indian goods imported into the US, except for goods already in transit or those m
Sensex closed the day at 80,543.99 points, down 166.26 points or 0.21 per cent, while Nifty closed at 24,574.20 points, down 75.35 points or 0.31 per cent.
The US reciprocal tariffs will affect approximately USD 8.1 billion worth of India's exports to the US, while the overall impact on India's economy remains manageable, said an analysis by the Industry body PHDCCI.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said on Wednesday that India should not take US President Donald Trump seriously when he makes impulsive statements on tariffs. Instead, the country should engage in sober and calm trade negotiations with the US, he added.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday expressed concern over the flood situation in Uttar Pradesh and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government of failing to provide assistance to the affected people.
Despite the uncertain global trade environment due to ongoing tariff announcements and trade negotiations, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the GDP growth projection for the current financial year 2025-26 unchanged at 6.5 per cent.