‘We need to ask them…’: Shashi Tharoor's question for the US after 50 % tariffs on India

“Why should we stop at 17 per cent? We should also raise it to 50 per cent...” Tharoor said about India's tariffs on US.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday responded to the 50 per cent tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump on India.

Calling the situation “concerning”, Tharoor said that the US was a country which shared “close relations” with India.(PTI)

While suggesting that India retaliate by raising tariffs on the US to 50 per cent, Tharoor also put forward a question. “.. .We need to ask them, do they not value our relationship? If India doesn't matter to them, they should also not matter to us,” Tharoor said.

The Congress MP said that India's average tariffs on American goods stood at 17 per cent currently, adding that they should be raised to the same level as the US. “Why should we stop at 17 per cent? We should also raise it to 50 per cent...” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

Calling the situation “concerning”, he said that the US was a country which shared “close relations” with India, with the two countries working as “strategic partners”.

“If that country has changed its behaviour, then India will have to think about many things...Perhaps in the coming two to three weeks, we can hold talks and find a way out,” Tharoor said, adding that India would have to look after its own interests.

Speaking about the tariffs, Trump said that they would have an impact, given that India has a trade of $90 billion with the US. “…If everything becomes 50 per cent more expensive, buyers will also think why should they buy Indian things?” Tharoor asked.

He further said that no country was allowed to threaten India in this manner.

Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order imposing additional 25 per cent tariffs on imports from India, taking the tariffs to 50 per cent. Trump cited India's trade with Russia, especially its purchase of oil from the country, as the reason for the tariffs. The Ministry of External Affairs called the move ""unfair, unjustified and unreasonable", while adding that India would take all actions necessary to protect its national interests.