NEW DELHI
\nIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he will not compromise the interests of the country\u2019s farmers even if he has to pay a heavy price for it, in his first comments after US President Donald Trump\u2019s salvo of a 50% tariff on Indian goods.
\nTrump announced an additional 25% tariff on the South Asian nation on Thursday, taking the total levy on Indian goods being exported to the US to 50% \u2014 among the highest levied on any US trading partner.
\n\u201cFor us, our farmers\u2019 welfare is supreme,\u201d Modi said in a function in New Delhi. \u201cIndia will never compromise on the well-being of its farmers, dairy sector and fishermen.
\nAnd I know personally I will have to pay a heavy price for it,\u201d he said. Trade talks between India and the United States collapsed after five rounds of negotiations over disagreement on opening India\u2019s vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases.
\nModi did not directly refer to the US tariffs or trade talks.
\nThe new tariff, effective from Aug. 28, was to penalise India for its purchase of Russian oil, Trump has said. India\u2019s foreign ministry has said the decision was \u201cextremely unfortunate,\u201d and that \u201cIndia will take all necessary steps to protect its national interests.\u201d The US is yet to announce any similar tariff for China, which is the biggest buyer of Russian oil.
\nExperts have said China has been spared so far as it has a bargaining chip with the US over its reserves of rare earth minerals and other such commodities, which India lacks. \u201cThe US tariff hike lacks logic,\u201d Dammu Ravi, secretary of economic relations in India\u2019s foreign ministry, told reporters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he will not compromise the interests of the country\u2019s farmers even if he has to pay a heavy price for it, in his first comments after US President Donald Trump\u2019s salvo of a 50% tariff on Indian goods. Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-495548","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n