‘A robust foreign policy needs substance and deft, but your superficial foreign policy engagements – smiles, hugs and selfies have hurt our interests.’
In this image posted on Aug. 24, 2025, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge addresses the newly appointed District Congress Committee Presidents of Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, at Indira Bhawan, in New Delhi. Photo: PTI.
New Delhi: As the US’s 50% tariffs on Indian imports kicked in, the Congress party has accused the government of failing to protect exporters and farmers from the fallout, calling it a “MAHA headache” for India. The revised tariffs, which came into effect a day ago, are expected to affect sectors such as agriculture, textiles, gems and jewellery, and small and medium enterprises.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a note to prime minister Narendra Modi and said the government’s “superficial foreign policy engagements” had not translated into meaningful outcomes.PlayNextMute
“Your dear friend “Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar” has imposed 50% Tariffs on India, starting today. We will lose an estimated ₹2.17 Lakh Crore as the first jolt to this Tariff, across 10 sectors alone. Our Farmers, especially Cotton farmers, are badly hit. You had said you are ready to pay any “personal price” to protect them, but you have done absolutely nothing to soften the blow and protect their livelihoods,” he wrote on X.
A day after the Donald Trump administration said that it would effectively impose a 50% tariff on India, Modi had said at a public event that he is ready to “pay a big price” for his government’s unwillingness to compromise on farmers’ interests.
Kharge highlighted concerns that have been reported across the media: that the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) suggests that almost 1% of India’s GDP could be impacted, and that China would benefit.
He also said how several export-oriented important sectors, including MSMEs, will experience massive job losses.
The leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha noted that a “snapshot” reveals the following. The hyperlinks are ones which were given by Kharge in his post on X.
1. Indian textile export sector is facing potential job losses of about 500,000 including both direct and indirect employment.
2. In the gems and jewellery sector, 150,000 to 200,000 jobs could be at risk if the tariffs continue. Close to 1,00,000 workers involved in diamond cutting and polishing across the Saurashtra region have already lost their jobs since April, when the 10% base US tariff was put in place.
3. Livelihoods of half a million shrimp farmers directly and another 2.5 million indirectly is at grave risk.
“Indian National interest is supreme. A robust Foreign Policy needs substance and deft, but your superficial Foreign Policy engagements – smiles, hugs and selfies have hurt our interests. You failed in securing a Trade Deal. Now you are failing to protect our country,” he said.
Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh also wrote on X that the tariff escalation coincides with continued uncertainty over H-1B visas, a matter of concern for Indian IT professionals.
He noted that this undercuts earlier assurances linking “Make in India” with stronger US ties, remarking that the current situation has instead created what he called a “major headache” for Indian exporters.
He wrote:
“Over the last twenty four hours, the US Commerce Secretary has also spoken out against the H1B visa system of which the biggest beneficiaries have been Indian IT professionals. This has been one of the key demands of the MAGA base of President Trump, the same MAGA which Prime Minister Modi in February this year used in his supposedly winning formula MAGA+ MIGA= MEGA. This Modi-made MEGA has now become a MAHA headache for India.”
Reference Link:- https://thewire.in/politics/congress-slams-government-modi-inaction-tariffs-day-two-exports