Trump Tariffs on India Will Backfire, Says Economist

Trump Tariffs on India Will Backfire, Says American Economist

American economist Richard Wolff has criticised the Trump tariffs on Indian goods, saying the move will hurt the United States more than India.

In an interview with Russia Today, Wolff compared the US action to “a mouse hitting an elephant,” explaining that India is too large and influential to be pressured by such measures.

The US recently imposed 50% tariffs on several Indian products, doubling existing duties. This was part of Donald Trump’s strategy to punish India for buying Russian oil, which Washington claims supports Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Wolff argued that India, now the world’s most populous country, will simply find other markets for its exports, especially through the BRICS bloc. “Like Russia found new buyers for its energy, India will sell its exports to BRICS nations instead of the United States,” he said.

The BRICS group — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE — is working to reduce Western financial dominance and challenge the US dollar’s global power. According to Wolff, BRICS countries already account for 35% of global output, while the G7 share has dropped to 28%.

He warned that Trump’s policies could unintentionally make BRICS stronger. “What you are doing is, in a hothouse fashion, developing BRICS to be a more powerful and united alternative to the West. We are watching history being made,” Wolff said.

Trump, however, has dismissed BRICS as “a little group fading out fast” and even threatened 100% tariffs if they move towards a common currency.

India, which has long maintained ties with both the US and Russia, has called Washington’s tariffs “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.” Wolff added with irony that while the US acts like the world’s “tough guy,” it is ultimately “shooting itself in the foot.”

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