'You can't even blame this disaster on 70 years of Congress': Mallikarjun Kharge slams govt over Trump tariffs; calls Centre 'clueless'

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, on Thursday, took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid chaos over the Trump administration doubling the tariff imposition on goods from India to 50 percent, calling it a "foreign policy disaster". He said that Trump's 50 percent tariffs come at a time when Indian diplomacy is "disastrously dithering."

"You can't even blame this foreign policy disaster on the 70 years of Congress," Kharge posed on X, adding that the Prime Minister failed to negotiate a trade deal with the US. "Now, Trump is intimidating and coercing us - but you keep quiet," he said.

"India's exports to the US amount to about Rs 7.51 lakh crore (2024). A blanket 50 percent tariff means an economic burden of Rs 3.75 lakh crore. Our sectors, such as MSMEs, Agriculture, Dairy Engineering Goods, Electronic Goods, Gems & Jewellery, Drug Formulations & Biologicals, Petroleum Products, and Cotton-made clothes, shall be hurt the most. Your government is clueless about how to deal with it," Kharge added.