Officials say 'no logic' behind Trump's tariff as talks continue with US

Mumbai: There is no logic or reason behind the Trump administration's "unilateral" move to impose 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports to the US, a senior Indian diplomat said on Thursday.

Negotiations between the US and India continue even after the move, Secretary, Economic Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Dammu Ravi told reporters hours after Washington doubled the tariffs on Indian goods.

"This is a unilateral decision. I don't think there is any logic or reason in the way it is done," Ravi told reporters on the sidelines of the LIDE Brazil India Forum here.

"Perhaps, this is a phase we have to overcome. The negotiations are still going on. So, we are confident that solutions will be found in the course of time in looking at mutually beneficial partnerships," he said while speaking on the sidelines of an event here.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday slapped additional tariffs, apparently peeved at New Delhi's import of Russian oil. The move is likely to hit various sectors, like textiles, marine and leather exports.

In its first reaction to the move, India called it "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".

Ravi said the Ministry of Commerce is leading the negotiation from the Indian side, and some solutions were in sight when Trump moved in with the executive order, hiking the tariffs.

"We were very close to finding a solution, and I think that momentum has taken a temporary pause, but it will continue," he said.

It can be noted that, as per plans announced earlier, a team of US officials is slated to visit India later this month for talks on a trade agreement.

Ravi said India and the US have been strategic partners, having a complementary relationship for some time, and underlined that businesses and leaders on both sides are looking at trade opportunities.

The high tariff will not have any detrimental impact on the Indian industry, Ravi said, stressing that it will not "pull back" or derail India Inc.

The Indian official said whenever any country faces tariff "walls", it looks for new markets where it can trade with, and the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and South Asia are among the regions India will target.

"If the US becomes difficult to export to, you will automatically look at other opportunities," he said.

Underlining that all countries are impacted by the tariff decisions being taken by US President Donald Trump, Ravi exuded confidence that solutions will evolve for the challenges.

"This is, in my view, a temporary aberration, a temporary problem that the country will face. In the course of time, we are confident that the world will find solutions to it. Like-minded countries will look for cooperation and economic engagement that will be mutually beneficial for all sides," he said.

With 'BRICS currency' also being Trump's subject of ire, Ravi denied any move to avoid the US dollar, but added that they are seeking alternatives for bilateral trade.

After Covid, there is a shortage of 'hard currency', which is resulting in moves to trade in own currency, he said, adding that work on this aspect is on bilaterally and at the BRICS levels.

The political leadership of Brazil and India is conscious of the need to increase trade, Ravi said, hoping that both countries can work in a "complementary manner".

The recently concluded BRICS Summit in Brazil, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was extremely successful, he noted.

India and Brazil have a lot in common, including being credible democracies. And there are bilateral opportunities in many sectors like fossil fuels, where the South American country has the reserves and the Asian country has to manage rising demand, Ravi pointed out.

Other areas where collaborations are possible include renewable energy, biofuel advances, solar, hydro and green energy.

Ravi said the idea of direct cash benefit transfer, which has helped save thousands of crore in India by plugging leakages, was borrowed from Brazil.

Similarly, biofuel, where India has announced a compulsory blending of some fuels, is also owed to Brazil.