Modi’s Silence on U.S. 50% Tariffs Betrays India’s Workers and Farmers

Elyas Muhammad Thumbe, National General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of India strongly condemns Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s deafening silence and abject failure to directly address the punitive 50% tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Indian goods, announced on August 6, 2025. This inaction, coupled with Modi’s vague remarks at the MS Swaminathan Centenary International Conference, reflects a betrayal of India’s economic interests and exposes his government’s diplomatic incompetence.

The U.S.’s additional 25% tariff, layered on an earlier 25% levy, threatens India’s $90 billion export market, endangering livelihoods in textiles, pharmaceuticals, and MSMEs. Modi’s refusal to directly confront this economic assault, despite his self-proclaimed “friendship” with Donald Trump, is a capitulation that risks 0.4% of India’s GDP growth in FY26. His cryptic claim of readiness to “pay a heavy price” for farmers’ interests rings hollow, given his government’s failure to secure exemptions for labor-intensive sectors or counter U.S. hypocrisy—Washington itself imports Russian uranium and fertilizers.

SDPI has repeatedly warned of Modi’s diplomatic missteps, as seen in our statements since July 2025. His government’s inability to leverage India’s position as the world’s fastest-growing economy has emboldened Trump’s unilateralism. The stalled U.S.-India trade talks, particularly over agriculture, reflect Modi’s reluctance to balance farmer welfare with strategic concessions, leaving India vulnerable. His silence on Russian oil imports, a key U.S. grievance, further undermines India’s strategic autonomy, a principle SDPI staunchly defends.

This crisis demands bold leadership—retaliatory tariffs, WTO complaints, or BRICS coordination—not empty rhetoric. Modi’s inaction jeopardizes domestic industries and emboldens opposition narratives of a “disastrously dithering” foreign policy. SDPI stands with India’s workers and farmers, urging immediate action to protect our economic sovereignty.