Kamal Haasan bats for self-reliance as Trump’s 50% tariff kicks in

Rajya Sabha Kamal Haasan on Wednesday (August 27, 2025) batted for atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in response to the 50% tariff imposed on India by the U.S.

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The actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder said the 50% tariffs on our exporters were not about trade, nor about Ukraine. “They are a political cudgel, aimed at shaking our resolve,” he said in a letter shared in an X post. He said, “As the Asian Century dawns, the powers of yesterday tremble at the rise of the Global South. India is the world’s largest democracy, a civilisation of builders and innovators. Our resolve in ensuring energy security for India and its proud citizens carries no price tag.”

He said since China is structurally self-reliant in critical supply chains (U.S.) tariffs on Beijing “come in whispers and half-measures while on India they are wielded like hammers. That is the lesson for India, which Gandhiji reminded us of at the stroke of the midnight hour: Atmanirbharta is not a slogan; it is strategic insurance”.

“I stand with my brothers in Tiruppur, Surat, and Noida, the beating heart of our textile and apparel exports; with the shrimp farmers of Andhra Pradesh, who made India the world’s leading supplier; with our brothers in the gems and jewellery industry in Gujarat and Maharashtra; and with our steel workers, who forged the backbone of our economy. They must not bear the cost of geopolitical games,” he said.

While pressing for national unity at the moment, he urged the Union and State governments to provide immediate relief with the certain measures such as a two-year moratorium on MSME loan repayments, and a special emergency credit line, expanded guarantee covers and low-interest export credit, clearance of all pending GST, RODTEP, and RoSCTL refunds, and temporary power-tariff concessions, freight support, and liberalised import norms for synthetic yarns.

He also suggested a single-window fast track for export compliance and refunds and identification and facilitation of entry into new global markets for affected sectors.

“But let us not treat this merely as crisis management. This must be our clarion call for a decade-long mission to secure India’s place in the supply chains of tomorrow: rare earths, semiconductors, batteries, power electronics, and advanced textiles. Then, and only then, will India be beyond the reach of tariffs and threats from across the oceans,” he said.

“India has a long memory. She remembers her friends by their deeds, not by their words. Let us meet this historic fork in the road with unity, courage, and vision. Republic of India and its citizens will not be lectured for putting India first. The Indian spirit has outlasted empires. It will outlast tariffs too,” he added.