Washington’s 50% levies on New Delhi’s exports are likely to harm US interests, Richard Wolff has said

US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian imports could backfire and end up pushing the South Asian country closer towards fellow BRICS members, top American economist Richard Wolff has said.

On an episode of RT’s ‘Sanchez Report,’ aired on Wednesday, Wolff, a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst said India's long-standing relationship with Russia is likely to endure, regardless of US pressure.

The US first imposed 25% tariffs on India in early August, as New Delhi and Washington could not finalize a trade agreement. Trump then announced an additional 25% tariff on India effective August 27 for New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil.

The US president has said India's purchases of oil and weapons from Russia are indirectly fueling the Ukraine conflict.

“If Trump continues with his tariff threats to India, who has a long historic relationship with Russia, you are playing with a very different adversary,” Wolff said. He added that the US has “shot itself in the foot” while “trying to act like a tough guy.”

The economist also cautioned that restricting access to the American market for Indian exports would likely drive New Delhi further towards emerging economic blocs such as BRICS.

“If you shut off the US to India, by big tariffs, India will have to find other places to sell its exports – like Russia found another place to sell its energy. India will sell its exports – no longer to the US – but to the rest of the BRICS,” he said.

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Wolff also pointed out that Trump's strategy risks making BRICS larger, more integrated, and more successful as an economic alternative to the West.

BRICS was formed by Brazil, Russia, India, and China in 2006, with South Africa joining four years later. It has since expanded further and now surpasses the G7 in combined GDP.

READ MORE: India set to ramp up Russian oil imports – Reuters

Wolff added that the latest US actions will inadvertently fortify the BRICS group, as a unified counterweight to Western dominance.

Earlier in August, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he plans to propose a BRICS summit to coordinate a joint response to Washington’s trade pressure. Brazil, like India, is facing 50% tariffs.

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