NEW DELHI: Yoga guru and Patanjali co-founder Baba Ramdev on Sunday lashed out US President Donald Trump over his decision to impose reciprocal tariffs, calling it an act of “tariff terrorism” and “economic terrorism.” The yoga guru accused Trump of threatening poorer nations and attempting to dominate global trade through unfair policies.
“There is a new era of intellectual colonisation. Ever since Donald Trump rose to power, he created a new world record of ‘tariff terrorism’. He has ripped off democracy by threatening poor and developing nations,” Ramdev said.
“This is ‘economic terrorism’… He is taking the world to a different era. In such a case, India needs to develop… All Indians should unite to build a strong nation and answer all these destructive powers.”
His remarks come as India and the US engage in negotiations over a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), aimed at reducing trade barriers and strengthening economic ties. Trump had claimed that India had agreed to significantly cut tariffs on American products, saying, “India charges us massive tariffs, you can’t even sell anything in India, it’s almost restrictive… By the way, they have agreed to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done.”
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri refrained from commenting on Trump’s statements, saying, “I will not get into that at this point of time because these are ongoing discussions, so it would not be right to get into it.”
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal recently visited the US for trade talks, meeting with his American counterparts to discuss the agreement. India has been gradually reducing tariffs for several nations, including Australia, the UAE, Switzerland, and Norway, under recent trade pacts. Similar negotiations are ongoing with the European Union and the UK.
Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs from April 2 has raised concerns about a potential global trade war, with other countries already considering countermeasures. India, while maintaining a cautious approach, has expressed its willingness to deepen trade ties with the US. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Our objective through the BTA is to strengthen and deepen India-US two-way trade across the goods and services sector, increase market access, reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, and deepen supply chain integration between the two countries.”
India’s recent decision to lower tariffs on certain products, including bourbon whiskey, wines, and electric vehicles, was viewed as a gesture to ease trade tensions. Meanwhile, Tesla is reportedly eyeing the Indian market, with senior Trump advisor, Elon Musk criticising the country’s high import duties, which reach up to 110%.
Despite tensions, trade between India and the US remains strong, with overall bilateral trade reaching $190 billion in 2023. The US also remains a key foreign investor in India, contributing nearly $5 billion in direct investments last year.
