Modi must not bend: Former US official Kurt Campbell slams Trumps tariffs on India

New Delhi: Former US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell slammed US President Donald Trump's decision to impose  additional 25 per cent tariffs on India. Campbell further added that India and the US's strategic relationship would eventually be strained due to the sky-high tariffs raised by Trump.

In an interview with CNBC, he said that India was in a "difficult position” after  Trump had spoken in a demeaning manner about India and its Prime Minister. "America's most important relationship in the 21st century is with India. Much of that is now at risk,” he claimed.

Campbell asked India not to bow down to America's unreasonable demands. "Prime Minister Modi should not bend the knee to President Trump," he added.Later in the interview, Campbell claimed that Trump's demand to stop  trade with Russia might "backfire". If India is told to halt its trading relations with Russia, it might turn out to do the "exact opposite".

This comes soon after US senator Gregory Meeks had warned Trump that the India-US relationship was at risk due to the imposition of extra tariffs. The Democrat added that the recent tariffs may act as a hindrance to the India-US strategic relationship built over the years.

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Meeks further said that the relations between India and US are "strategic, economic, and people-to-people”. He further advised that solutions must equip both the nations equally, maintaining democratic values.

After Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India on August 6, the Ministry of External Affairs labelled the move "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”. Initially, Trump had imposed US tariffs of 25 per cent on August 1, which invited a flood of controversy. To make matters worse, it imposed an extra penalty for India's oil and military purchases from Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.