Democrats in the US House Foreign Affairs Committee have strongly criticised President Donald Trump and his administration for what they call unfair treatment of India. They said Trump is punishing India for buying Russian oil while letting China continue its imports without any penalty.

According to the Democrats, Trump’s move of placing 50 percent tariffs on Indian imports is “hurting Americans” and “sabotaging the US-India” ties that have been carefully built over the past two decades with bipartisan support.

They said in a statement on X, “Instead of imposing sanctions on China or others purchasing larger amounts of Russian oil, Trump’s singling out India with tariffs, hurting Americans and sabotaging the US-India relationship in the process.” They also added, “It’s almost like it’s not about Ukraine at all.”

The panel also pointed to a report published by the New York Times. It said, “It would be one thing if the Trump administration had opted to follow through on the threat of secondary sanctions for any country that purchases Russian oil. But the decision to focus solely on India has resulted in perhaps the most confusing policy outcome of all: China, the largest importer of Russian energy, is still purchasing oil at discount prices and has so far been spared similar punishment.”

The timing of the Democrats’ criticism is important. It came as Trump’s new 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods came into effect. These tariffs are in addition to the 25 per cent duties he had already imposed earlier this month, making it a total of 50 per cent. Trump linked these new tariffs to India’s trade of Russian oil.

India has warned that these tariffs could hit its economy badly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government estimates that exports worth $48.2 billion will be affected. Officials fear that the higher costs could make Indian products unprofitable in the US market, leading to job losses and slower growth.

Despite this, PM Modi has said he will not bow to pressure. The US has, however, given some relief by exempting sectors like pharmaceuticals and electronic goods from the extra tariffs, which are important export areas for India.

India and the US have seen their trade relationship grow in recent years, but disputes continue over market access. India started trade talks with Trump’s administration early, but no deal has been finalised. The US is still pressing for greater access to India’s agriculture and dairy sectors.

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