Shashi Tharoor responds to Donald Trump’s 100% tariff warning for India: ‘His threat seems a bit empty because…’

US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs against BRICS nations if the group tried to move away from the dollar in international trade. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has since deemed it a seemingly ‘empty’ threat as there was no such plan in the works.

“I don’t think there is any particular plan whatsoever to do that. And therefore, the threat of the president seems a bit empty because it’s only if there is an actual proposal that comes up and that countries like India are taking forward seriously. I don’t see any support in the Indian government for such a proposal. So, until that happens, why should we worry,” he said.

Tharoor noted that there had been “some discussion” on the issue with localised examples — such as Rupee-Ruble trade with Russia or Rupee-Riyal trade with Iran. The Congress lawmaker also said that the dollar remained a “practical convenience” for most countries.

What is BRICS and does it want a new currency?

BRICS is an intergovernmental organisation comprising 10 countries including India. The other member nations are Russia, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs against the grouping and warned against de-dollarisation.

Recent years have seen some of the member nations — in particular Russia and China — seeking an alternative to the US dollar or a new BRICS currency. India remains against the move with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterating in December that there was no such proposal.

What has Donald Trump said?

“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar, while we stand by and watch, is OVER. We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty US Dollar or, they will face 100 per cent Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US Economy. They can go find another sucker Nation,” Trump insisted in a social media post.

The strongly worded remarks were made through his Truth Social platform. He also assured that there was “no chance that BRICS will replace the US Dollar in International Trade”. Any country that tried such a move, he insisted, would soon find itself “saying hello to Tariffs, and goodbye to America!”

(With inputs from agencies)