Government caught napping, seems under US pressure to sacrif
Government caught napping, seems under US pressure to sacrifice Indian interests: Sachin Pilot on tariffs
Sachin Pilot n a scathing attack on the government over the imposition of tariffs by the US said the Indian government is merely buying time and leaving everything to fate
NEW DELHI — In a scathing attack on the government over the imposition of
tariffs by the US, Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot on Sunday said that
Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have worked out a constructive solution
during his last America visit rather than just indulging in "photo
ops" and exchanging gifts.
He said that at a time the world is responding to the
imposition of reciprocal tariffs by the US, the Indian government is merely
buying time and leaving everything to fate.
In an interview to PTI, the former minister for Corporate
Affairs said the Indian government is accepting what has been given out and has
not even offered a response.
"I would imagine, when the PM was in Washington (in
February) and met the president of the US, instead of just photo ops and
exchanging gifts, something more constructive should have come out of it,"
Pilot said.
"If our relations are as strong as the two leaders
claim, then we would not have been slapped with these steep tariffs. Clearly
our exports will be severely hit, manufacturing was in any way on a downside,
MSMEs are in for a shock...The economy will face severe stress due to resulting
layoffs and job losses but unfortunately we have not had an adequate response
or even an indication of how to navigate this situation." he said.
The government was caught napping and it seems under US pressure
to sacrifice Indian interests, he alleged.
Pilot pointed out that many European countries have
responded strongly and in fact, China will legally take action against the US
in the WTO.
While European countries have spoken of similar tariffs,
Canada and Mexico have also indicated reciprocal imposition of higher counter
tariffs but "we have not responded yet", Pilot said.
"So one does not know what the government intends to do
but one thing is clear that these trade wars are going to pose a huge problem
whether it is inflation, manufacturing, productivity, transfer of technology-
all will be impacted but despite Parliament being in session, we have not seen
an adequate response or assurance from the Indian government on how it will
protect indian interests. And this silence is adding to the uncertainty,"
the Congress leader said.
Calling for a proper strategy to deal with the issue, Pilot
said if the tariff proposal was in the pipeline, the Indian government should
have communicated and dealt with it in a much more strategic manner than it
has.
"We are just basically accepting what has been given
out and while the whole world is reacting, we are yet to respond ," he
said.
Noting that India is now a more interconnected economy
around the world, he said the US move will have an impact on India especially
at a time when there is "record unemployment" since Independence.
"Our national debt burden has increased exponentially
and while our economy is growing the rich-poor divide is at historic levels. A
large portion of our labour force is engaged in trade and export related
manufacturing and millions of those jobs are facing uncertainty, and yet the
government has not come out with any creative ideas on how to tackle the
consequences of these tariff wars," Pilot said.
He said it was difficult to predict what exactly the
outcomes of the US imposed tariffs would be but asserted that the Indian
government should have been better prepared knowing this was coming.
India being a strategic partner of the US has not yielded
any benefits at least as far as the current economic scenario is concerned,
Pilot added.
The US has announced 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs on
India, saying New Delhi imposes high import duties on American goods, as the
Donald Trump administration aims to reduce the country's trade deficit and
boost manufacturing.
The move is expected to impact India's exports to the US.
President Trump, in a measure to counter higher duties on
American products imposed globally, announced reciprocal tariffs on about 60
countries.
On the recently passed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which has now
become an Act, Pilot said the Congress made its stand very clear in Parliament
and the Opposition was united in opposing it.
"The moot question - for what reason was this bill was
brought into Parliament? The intention behind bringing this bill is not what is
claimed.If there were some isolated incidents of non compliances or
discrepancies that needed to be corrected, that could have been corrected.
"But the way the bill was brought, in such a rush,
despite huge opposition from all corners, including political parties,
stakeholders, community leaders, the intent was to have another debate in this
country about Hindus and Muslims and Mandir and Masjid, to divide the country
and polarise the narrative on religious lines," Pilot said.
"It's an old trick for the BJP to avoid accepting and
resolving real issues like Manipur, unemployment, food price inflation, Chinese
incursions into our territory and divert the attention of the country toward
highly contentious and polarising issues just to suit their political and
electoral agenda," he said.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday gave her assent to the
Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was passed by Parliament last week after
heated debates in both Houses.
