India should also impose 50 percent tariff on American goods: Shashi Tharoor

Tharoor said the 50 percent tariff will create an impact at a time products from other countries are available to people in the US at a cheaper rate.

"Of course there will be an impact because we do trade worth $90 billion with the US. The buyers in the US will now think twice before buying an Indian product if the prices go up by 50 percent, especially when products from Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan, China are available at a cheaper price," he said.

Speaking to the media in Parliament, Tharoor, a former diplomat, said Washington has sent an underlying message to New Delhi by giving only three weeks' time before implementing the 50 percent tariff while 90 days to China, which is also purchasing oil from Russia.

"The US is giving us three weeks time after imposing 25 percent extra tariff while 90 days to China that almost buys double the amount of Russian oil than what we are buying. This means Washington is giving an underlying message which our government needs to analyse and respond to. If they (US) continue to do this, we should also impose a 50 percent tariff on American exports. No other country can threaten us like this. We should not accept any threat.

"Trump talks about reciprocal tariffs. India's tariff on American goods is 17 percent on an average. So if they (US) are imposing a 50 percent tariff on us, then we should also impose a 50 percent tariff. We should not get into unnecessary tussles over trade but we need to ask them, do they not value our relationship? If India doesn't matter to them, they should also not matter to us...," the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

'India will never compromise': Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his country won't compromise and he is even "ready to pay heavy personal price" after Trump imposed tariffs on India over buying Russian oil.

"For us, the welfare of our farmers is the highest priority. India will never compromise on the interests of its farmers, livestock rearers, and fisherfolk. I know I will have to pay a heavy personal price for this. But I am ready," Modi said.

"For the fisherfolk of my country, for the livestock rearers of my country — today, India is ready. We are continuously working towards increasing farmers’ income and creating new sources of livelihood," he added.