Washington. The tussle over tariffs (import duties) in trade relations between America and India is not showing any sign of abating. US MP Brad Sherman has made a shocking claim saying that President Donald Trump is still looking for an excuse to impose heavy tariffs against India. According to Sherman, India is being separately targeted in the name of purchasing Russian oil, while a soft stance is being adopted towards other countries on the same issue.
MP Brad Sherman raised questions on the policy of the Trump government and said that the President is claiming that strictness on India is necessary due to the import of Russian oil. However, countering this argument with figures, he pointed out that a country like Hungary takes 90 percent of its oil from Russia and there is no tariff on it. At the same time, no additional restrictions have been imposed on China, Russia’s biggest buyer, due to Russian oil. Sherman stressed that India sources only 21 percent of its crude oil needs from Russia, yet it was unfair to target it despite being a strategic ally. He has demanded that the administration should immediately change this discriminatory policy.
In recent months, the impact of this trade war has been clearly visible on India’s export figures. According to Commerce Ministry data, India’s merchandise exports to the US fell by about 21.77 percent to $6.6 billion in January. This decline was also recorded in the months of September, October and December last year. However, during the same period, India’s imports from America have increased by 23.71 percent to reach $4.5 billion. It is noteworthy that America had imposed a heavy duty of 50 percent on Indian goods in August, which has recently been reduced to 18 percent after an interim agreement. The interesting thing is that the American people themselves are also suffering from this blow of tariff. A new analysis by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has shown that about 90 percent of the burden of these import duties has been borne by American consumers and businesses themselves, rather than by foreign companies. According to a recent report, these fees result in an average additional financial burden of $1,000 for every American household in 2025, which is projected to increase to $1,300 in 2026. In such a situation, this policy is not only affecting India-US trade relations, but is also causing inflation at the domestic level.