Shashi Tharoor Warns of Impact on Indian Auto Parts Sector After Trump’s 26% Tariff Announcement

Congress MP says American manufacturers and consumers will suffer too, hopes trade talks in the coming months can secure a better deal for India.

Reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 26% import tariff on Indian goods, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed concern over its potential impact on India’s automobile parts sector, a major contributor to the country’s exports to the U.S.

Tharoor pointed out that while India doesn’t export many finished vehicles to the United States, the auto parts trade is substantial and likely to be hit by the new tariff policy.

“We are not selling many automobiles in America, but automobile parts are a major factor and that would be affected,” he said.
“The first victims are going to be American manufacturers who would be buying Indian parts. So that’s not very good for us, that’s not very good for them, and that’s not very good for the American consumers,” Tharoor added.

Despite the announcement, Tharoor remained hopeful about ongoing trade diplomacy.

“I hope that in the negotiations over the next nine months—we have time till September-October for a trade agreement—our negotiators will do a good job in trying to get something better than this.”

Trump’s tariff announcement, made during the Make America Wealthy Again event, included a detailed list of increased import duties on countries with large trade surpluses against the U.S. India was hit with a 26% tariff, while other countries such as China (34%), Vietnam (46%), and Sri Lanka (44%) also faced sharp increases.

Despite calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “great friend,” Trump criticized India’s high import tariffs on U.S. goods.

“India, very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left and is a great friend of mine, but you are not treating us right. They charge us 52%, and we charge them almost nothing,” Trump said at the event.

He also cited the disparity in motorcycle tariffs, noting that while the U.S. charges only 2.4%, India imposes 70%.

Additionally, Trump announced a 25% blanket tariff on all foreign-made automobiles, calling it essential to protect America’s industrial base.

“Such horrendous imbalances have devastated our industrial base and put our national security at risk,” Trump stated.
“Effective at midnight, we will impose a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles.”

The tariffs go into effect immediately and are part of what Trump called America’s “Declaration of Economic Independence.”