India opposition leader urges Modi to hit US with 100% retaliatory tariff

Indian opposition leader and former Delhi chief Arvind Kejriwal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impose a retaliatory tariff of 100% on imports from the United States on Thursday (August 28).

AI Brief

Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50%, citing oil trade with Russia.
India criticised the move, with leaders calling for stronger retaliation.
Tariffs affect a wide range of Indian exports, straining US-India relations.

Trump's doubling of tariffs to as much as 50% on goods from India took effect as scheduled on Wednesday (August 27), escalating tension between the world's two largest democracies and strategic partners.

"If Trump had imposed a tariff of 50% on Indian goods, we should have imposed a retaliatory tariff of 100%. Are we a weak country? This is a country of 1.4 billion people. 1.4 billion is not a small number… we have a big market", said Kejriwal.

A punitive 25% tariff, imposed due to India's purchases of Russian oil, was added to Trump's prior 25% tariff on many imports from the South Asian nation. It takes total duties as high as 50% for goods as varied as garments, gems and jewellery, footwear, sporting goods, furniture and chemicals - among the highest imposed by the U.S. and roughly on par with Brazil and China.