Did Trump slap tariffs for not getting India-Pakistan ceasefire ‘credit’, asks Opposition

Did the U.S. impose high tariffs on imports from India as a retribution for not endorsing U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that he had brokered peace between India and Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor? That was one of the over four dozen questions the Opposition asked at the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs meeting on Monday (August 11, 2025). 

The panel, headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, was briefed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on “U.S.-India Trade negotiations and tariffs”. The meeting went on for three hours and according to Mr. Tharoor, nearly 50 questions were asked by 22 members of the panel, which the two Secretaries responded to. 

Responding to the Opposition MP’s question, Mr. Misri, according to sources, said that the India-U.S. relationship was multi-faceted with trade being just one of the many aspects. The India-U.S. trade in 2024 was worth $210 billion. Mr. Misri strongly refuted recent reports that India was planning to put on hold plans to procure new U.S. weapons and aircraft.

“The India-U.S. defence cooperation continues as before,” he told the members who were also curious to know the impact of the increased tariffs on the GDP. They demanded to know the measures India was taking to negotiate the tariffs to a more acceptable level. 

Before the beginning of the meeting, the Foreign Secretary read out the External Affairs Ministry’s statement on Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir’s remarks made during his U.S. visit. Mr. Munir reportedly said that Islamabad would take down “half the world” with it if the country faced an existential threat from India. The Ministry responded by saying that such “nuclear sabre-rattling” was not acceptable and it was “regrettable” that such remarks were made “from the soil of a friendly third country.”

Later, Mr. Tharoor said the Ministry has given a “fitting reply” to Mr. Munir’s statement. “This gentleman has a habit of saying things to the Pakistani diaspora that are apparently intended to boost his position. India knows how to handle these things in the air and on the ground. I am not too worried,” he said.