India Scrambles To Damage Control Mode After Trump Ramps Up Tariff Threats: Report

The Indian government is reportedly shifting to damage control mode after President Donald Trump threatened to impose higher tariff rates against the country on Monday.

A Bloomberg report citing unnamed officials in the Indian government said that President Trump’s comments took New Delhi by surprise.

According to the official, the government does not have a template to respond to President Trump’s remarks, which ranged from calling the trade barriers “obnoxious” to the Indian economy being “dead,” among other things.

The Indian government is currently considering ways to offset the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on the country, according to the report. Exports in sectors such as jewelry and textiles are expected to be hit the hardest.

The report added that the Indian government could expedite a $256 million export promotion plan, and the budgeted amount could also be increased in light of President Trump’s tariff tirade.

This comes after months of negotiations between New Delhi and Washington, but President Trump unilaterally threatened to impose 25% tariffs on India last month. He also threatened to impose additional penalties on the country for buying Russian crude and military equipment.

On Monday, he threatened to increase these tariffs “substantially,” accusing India of churning “big profits” from the sale of Russian crude oil in the open market. He also said India does not care how many people in Ukraine are being killed in its ongoing war with Russia.

The Indian government called President Trump’s remarks “unjustified and unreasonable,” while adding that it would take all necessary steps to safeguard its interests.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities surged in Tuesday morning’s trading session. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.23%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.37%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘neutral’ territory.

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