'What happened to MIGA + MAGA = MEGA?': P Chidambaram asks govt after Trump calls India 'dead economy'

Former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday questioned the Modi government on the 25 per cent tariff levied on India by US President Donald Trump. His tweet came after Trump called India a 'dead economy' and said that he doesn't care about New Delhi and Moscow. 

Calling the tariff "a clear violation of the WTO rules", the former Union minister said that friendship cannot be a substitute for diplomacy and painstaking negotiations. He even questioned the friendship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump. 

Chidambaram wrote: "The 25 per cent tariff on all Indian exports to the United States PLUS penalty for buying Russian oil is a big blow to India's trade with the U.S. 'Dosti' is no substitute for diplomacy and painstaking negotiations The tariff imposed by the U.S. is a clear violation of the WTO rules What happened to MIGA + MAGA = MEGA?"

US President Trump criticised India and Russia for their close ties, stating they can take their economies down together. The comment came after Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on imports from India plus a penalty on defence and energy ties with Russia. 

"I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," he said. "We have done very little business with India; their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World," he added.

With this, India is the first country to face a US penalty over Russian imports. India's crude oil imports from Russia have gone up from 0.2 per cent of total purchases before the Russia-Ukraine war to 35-40 per cent.

Even though he imposed high tariffs on China, he did not levy any penalty despite China being Russia's largest oil importer. India is the second-largest buyer of Russian oil after China. 

The tariff comes amid ongoing negotiations between India and the US for a free trade agreement. Certain US demands such as access to India's agricultural sector are perceived as being against India's national interest and the government has not agreed to these demands so far.