Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday expressed support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "very positive" response to US President Donald Trump and said that there is still a lot of "work" to be done to reach a final agreement on tariffs.
Amid increasing concerns over the impact of Trump's 50 per cent tariff on India, the US President on Friday praised PM Modi as a "great prime minister" and said that they will "always be friends".
PM Modi responded to Trump's remarks and said he "deeply appreciates" and "fully reciprocates" the US President's sentiments and his "positive assessment" of their ties.
The prime minister noted that India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking comprehensive, and global strategic partnership.
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Reacting to the plight of industries that have been hit by Trump tariffs, Tharoor told news agency PTI, "We are very concerned about the impact of the tariffs. In fact, people have already been laid off in the gems and jewellery sector in Surat, and the garment factories in Tiruppur."
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to the plight of industries that have been hit by Trump tariffs, Tharoor told news agency PTI, "We are very concerned about the impact of the tariffs. In fact, people have already been laid off in the gems and jewellery sector in Surat, and the garment factories in Tiruppur."
{{/usCountry}}The Congress MP said that the tariffs have already "hurt" India. "It has been a very severe setback for us. But nonetheless, if Mr Trump wants to reach out, our prime minister has responded very positively. Let us see," he added.
Tharoor also said that there is still a lot of work to be done from both sides (India and the US) to heal the breach and come to an agreement on tariffs.
While affirming his friendship with PM Modi, Trump had said that he just doesn't like "what he's doing at this particular moment". However, he also said that there is "nothing to worry about".
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The India-US ties have been under heavy friction over the tariffs that Trump doubled citing New Delhi's Russian oil purchase.
He said that he was "very disappointed" that India would be buying so much oil from Russia, adding that he let New Delhi know about it. Earlier, after PM Modi's bonhomie with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping was seen in China during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, Trump said it looked like the US "lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China".
However, Trump also said that trade talks with India and the other countries were "going great".
Plights from Surat, Tiruppur
Last week, diamond traders in Gujarat's Surat expressed concerns over the severe crisis they are facing because of Trump's tariffs. One of them told news agency ANI that orders from the US are being cancelled, and new orders are not coming in.
Umesh Munjapara, one of the diamond traders, said that they were now looking to expand their businesses beyond the US and explore opportunities in the domestic market.
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The industry, which employs more than 800,000 skilled artisans, reportedly relies heavily on the US market. America accounts for approximately 32 per cent of India's diamond exports.
Another diamond trader, Kiran Suthar, said, "But since the 50% tariff is imposed, the whole middle-class business, their exports and their work, which used to run directly from the US, have suddenly come to a complete stop... The customers there have overstocked since the 50% tariff was going to be imposed... There are no new orders for one week... The customers are also unhappy with their government because their goods are getting expensive... Currently, our exports to the US have been halted due to the tariff."
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK government asked PM Modi what he was going to do for the state's western region, which houses the textiles industry.
"What PM Modi is going to do to protect the western region? The BJP is a party that always works by aiming at the western region. The BJP targets the votes of people in the western region; what it is going to do to protect the industries in the western region?" DMK's official organ "Murasoli" asked in an editorial.
It also referred to Tiruppur hosiery trade unions' demand seeking steps on a war footing to protect the industry and workers.