Chidambaram questions India’s gains, condemns Trump’s tariff ‘weaponisation’

Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Saturday mounted a sharp attack on US President Donald Trump, accusing him of indulging in the “weaponisation of tariffs” and asserting that such actions must be unequivocally condemned.

In a post on X, the former finance minister said he was not surprised that Trump was “desperately searching” for legal avenues to re-impose tariffs after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the so-called reciprocal tariffs announced on 2 April 2025. The court had ruled against the administration’s sweeping use of emergency economic powers to justify broad-based import duties.

“What is surprising,” Chidambaram wrote, “is that some commentators and BJP-leaning trolls are obliquely justifying the actions of Mr Trump to retain the tariffs in one way or other.” He questioned whether such voices recognised that the tariffs had severely disrupted global trade and ran counter to the rule-based international trading order that countries seek to uphold. He also asked whether they acknowledged the adverse impact on India’s exports to the United States.

Describing the original tariff measures as having been widely condemned by countries across the world, Chidambaram said Trump’s fresh attempts — under alternative legal provisions — amounted to a continuation of the same approach. “Post-judgement, what President Trump is attempting to do is also weaponisation of tariffs, and this must be condemned too,” he said.

The Congress veteran also raised concerns over the Centre’s claims of securing a balanced US-India trade understanding. Referring to Trump’s recent remarks that “nothing changes” and that India would continue to pay tariffs while the US would not, Chidambaram questioned the government’s portrayal of the 2 February 2026 Joint Statement as a diplomatic achievement.

“Is this the reciprocity that was assured when the Joint Statement was issued by India and the US on 2 February 2026? Is this the ‘achievement’ the government of India celebrated shortly after the Joint Statement?” he asked.

Trump on Saturday announced that tariffs on all countries would be raised to 15 per cent from 10 per cent, a day after he had imposed a 10 per cent universal levy for 150 days beginning 24 February. The escalation followed the Supreme Court’s verdict invalidating key elements of his earlier tariff regime, prompting the administration to recalibrate its strategy while keeping sweeping duties at the centre of its trade policy.

With PTI inputs