With the US government imposing a 50 percent tariff (customs duty) on Indian imports, it has created a big wave. US President Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on goods imported from India to the US from August 27 if India does not stop buying Russian oil. As India continues to buy fuel, the steep tariff has been implemented since Wednesday.

Meanwhile, India has decided to strengthen the 'Swadeshi Abhiyan' and face any pressure. Indian and other media have closely analyzed two neighbors, India and China, which have had bitter relations for the past few years amid intense pressure from the US government.

India is accused by the US of providing financial support to Russia in its war with Ukraine by buying cheap Russian oil. India has responded that this is irrational and the imposition of a 50 percent tariff is unfair. America and India, previously known as nations with close relations, are now face to face.

India is resolutely responding to the American threat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India will be self-sufficient. He has also promised to reduce tax rates in India to minimize the economic impact of US tariffs.

Modi has said that he will gift everyone a substantial tax rebate during Diwali. He expects that this will give relief to small traders and common people. He has also claimed to make India dependent on its own strength.

Speaking in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, he reiterated his commitment to strengthen India's economic power. "No matter how much pressure comes, we will increase our ability to face it," he said, "No one can pressure India to abandon its strategic decision." He asked to give priority to Indian products.

America accuses India of helping the Russia-Ukraine war by importing petroleum products from Russia. On Wednesday, Trump raised the tariff rate on Indian goods to 50 percent, saying that India continued to buy oil despite their clear objections. According to The Economic Times, there is an analysis by Indian economists that India's gross domestic product (GDP) may shrink by 1 percent due to this announcement.

Quoting Trump earlier, the White House statement said, "India is not only buying large quantities of Russian oil, it is also making huge profits by selling a large part of that oil in the open market." Therefore, I will significantly increase the customs duty that India pays to the US.'

In 2024, India exported goods worth 87 billion dollars to the US, according to the Indian media. Due to the high tariffs, Indian clothes, jewelry, sea food, etc. have become more expensive for American consumers. Soumya Bhowmik has written in 'The Indian Express' that the orders of India's export traders have started to be cancelled, the production of factories has decreased and job losses have increased.

"Washington accuses India of helping Putin in the war with Ukraine by buying oil from Russia at a discount, but this is not accounted for," journalist Bhowmik wrote, "India saves only 3-4 billion dollars annually by buying cheap oil from Russia." However, in return, there is a risk that the income from exports to America will decrease by 10 times. What is understood from this is that India has more losses than benefits to buy cheap oil from Russia.' Just last month, the US imposed a 25 percent tariff on Indian goods. In a conversation with The Hindu, Ajay Srivastava of the Global Trade Research Initiative called the US tariffs a 'strategic blow to India's export-led development model'.

He predicts that this will lead to widespread job cuts in India and a contraction in the manufacturing sector. Due to this tariff, India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate is estimated to decrease by 0.8 percentage points in the current financial year.

Exporters in Surat, Tirupur and Visakhapatnam said US orders were significantly cancelled. Shrimp (shrimp) traders in Andhra Pradesh have expressed fear of a loss of more than 24 thousand crore rupees. The Federation of Indian Organizations has requested the government to come up with an emergency relief plan to deal with this situation.

Trump's 'tariff war' is expected to spread to South Asia. Some have analyzed the flow of raw materials to a country like Nepal, which depends on a close trade supply chain with India. Also, some analysts have warned that there will be a decrease in demand for Nepali goods. But some see it as an opportunity. It is argued that exporters of Nepali clothing and handicrafts in particular can find new opportunities in the US market.