‘US does what’s right for them; we should do what’s right for us’: Finfluencer on India-US trade, 50% tariffs

The US does what is best for the US, and likewise India should do what is best for India. Finfluencer and Wisdom Hatch founder Akshat Shrivastava, highlighting the basic tenet of policy-making, said India should lower taxes, end reservation to reward merit, bring in judicial reforms and end corruption. He also underscored the biggest challenge India faces in making these hard decisions.

He said unlike 25 years ago, when an Indian software engineer would earn $20,000 as opposed to an American software engineer who was demanding $120,000, the model has now changed. The cheaper labour of Indian workers meant massive cost savings for American firms if they outsourced, which they did.

However, in 2025, the scenario is vastly different. Labour arbitrage is shrinking massively, and now the US is looking to in-source its production.

“Like always, US cares for the US. They do things that is right for them. We should do things that are right for us,” said Shrivastava.

“It starts by cleaning our house: low taxes, rewarding merit (ending reservation), judicial reforms and ending corruption. These are basic building blocks to anything good. Unless this is done-- nothing major would change. Sad part is: there is not one single political party/individual that can make these hard calls,” he said.

His post was in reference to US President Donald Trump’s recent post on India. He claimed that India offered to cut tariffs to 'nothing' but that 'it's too late now'. Trump also criticised India’s trade practices, calling the economic relationship between the two countries "a totally one-sided disaster". In a post on Truth Social, Trump highlighted the trade imbalance, stating that the US does very little business with India, while India sells a large amount of goods to the US. He said US businesses have been locked out of the Indian market due to what he described as the most severe tariffs of any country.

These remarks follow the US administration’s recent imposition of a combined 50 per cent tariff on a wide range of Indian exports, including textiles, gems, footwear, and machinery. The tariffs consist of a 25 per cent reciprocal trade action and an additional 25 per cent penalty related to India’s purchases of Russian oil. Pharmaceuticals and electronics have been excluded. New Delhi has strongly criticised the tariffs, calling them unfair and unjustified.