Govt To Brief Shashi Tharoor-Led Panel On India-US Trade Talks, Trump Tariffs Today. What's On The Agenda?

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Union government will brief Shashi Tharoor-led Standing Committee on External Affairs on the latest developments in India's foreign policy today, US-India trade negotiations and tariffs today, 11 August.

The panel led by the Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will be briefed by representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on the current developments in India's foreign policy, with special reference to US-India trade negotiations and tariffs, according to a schedule shared by Lok Sabha Secreterait.

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The meeting is scheduled at 4 pm. The MEA told the parliamentary panel ahead of the meeting that the US decision to impose secondary sanctions on India had forced it into a geopolitical contest not of its making, according to reports. Despite the erosion of trust , it said India remained committed to engaging constructively with the US, the reports said

On Friday, while responding to the 50 per cent tariffs on India imposed by the United States, Shashi Tharoor said that India must also safeguard its interests.

The panel led by the Congressleader will be briefed by representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on the current developments in India's foreign policy, with special reference to US-India trade negotiations and tariffs

"What is happening is concerning. A country with which we had close relations, and we were 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. India will also have to look after its own interests," Shashi Tharoor said.

'India should also raise tariffs on American goods'

Earlier on Thursday, Shashi Tharoor said that India should also raise tariffs on American goods to 50 per cent in response to the US imposing an additional 25 per cent duty on Indian exports . Tharoor questioned why India should stop at the current 17 per cent tariff and emphasised that the country should not be intimidated by such actions. He also said that no country should be allowed to threaten India in this manner.

“It will definitely have an impact because we have a trade of $90 billion with them, and if everything becomes 50 per cent more expensive, buyers will also think why should they buy Indian things?... If they do this, we should also impose a 50 per cent tariff on American exports... It is not that any country can threaten us like this,” Shashi Tharoor said.

Also Read | Trump mulls tariffs on China over Russian oil purchases after move against India

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India. Trump cited matters of national security and foreign policy concerns, as well as other relevant trade laws, for the increase, claiming that India's imports of Russian oil , directly or indirectly, pose an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States.

If that country has changed its behaviour, then India will have to think about many things...

Terming the United States' move to impose additional tariffs on India over its oil imports from Russia as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) declared that New Delhi will take "all actions necessary to protect its national interests.

(With ANI inputs)

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