(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on Indian imports could backfire and drive New Delhi closer to its BRICS partners, according to leading economist Richard Wolff.

Speaking on Wednesday, Wolff, a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, argued that India’s deep-rooted ties with Russia are unlikely to be broken under American pressure.

Washington initially levied 25% tariffs on Indian goods earlier this month after trade talks between the two countries failed to produce an agreement. On August 27, Trump introduced an additional 25% tariff, citing India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. He has claimed that such trade indirectly fuels the conflict in Ukraine.

“If Trump continues with his tariff threats to India, who has a long historic relationship with Russia, you are playing with a very different adversary,” Wolff warned. He further remarked that the US has “shot itself in the foot” while “trying to act like a tough guy.”

The economist also cautioned that shutting Indian exporters out of the US market could accelerate New Delhi’s pivot toward other economic partnerships, particularly BRICS. “If you shut off the US to India, by big tariffs, India will have to find other places to sell its exports – like Russia found another place to sell its energy. India will sell its exports – no longer to the US – but to the rest of the BRICS,” he said.

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