'It's like mouse hitting elephant': US economist on Trump's tariffs against India over Russian oil purchase

Speaking to Russia Today, Wolff said India will find a way to export its goods if the US shuts down its market for New Delhi and in a way the BRICS will be stronger than ever.

He implied Trump's overall 50 percent tariffs on imports from India will boomerang and hit Washington back hard.

The economist told the broadcaster, "India is now, according to the United Nations, by population, the largest country on Earth having outgrown China, which used to have that position. If you do what the United States or Mr. Trump is doing with these threats against India, who has a long historical relationship with Russia going back to the days of the Soviet Union and ever since, you are playing with a very different adversary.

"If you shut off the United States to India by big tariffs, India will have to find other places to sell its exports. But like Russia found another place to sell its energy, India will sell its exports no longer to the United States, but to the rest of the BRICS."

"And what you're doing is you're hothouse-fashion, developing the BRICS to be an ever larger, more integrated, and successful economic alternative to the West. We are watching, as you put it, a historic moment but it will be for those with same humour it will be the spectacle of the United States acting like it's the world's tough guy, as what it actually does is shoot itself in the foot," he added as India has repaired its bilateral ties with China.

"The United States telling India what to do is like a mouse hitting his fist to an elephant," the economist says.

The Trump administration, which was earlier viewed as India-friendly, has slapped a 25 percent tariff on the South Asian country for its high tariffs on American exports and another 25 percent for purchasing oil from Russia which is fighting a war against Ukraine.

The White House, which has singled out India over Russian oil purchase, said the second 25 percent tariff will be effective from August 27, 2025.

Since the conflict in Ukraine began in early 2022, India significantly increased its imports of discounted Russian crude oil—now comprising over 30 percent of its total crude imports.

Indian refineries then export refined petroleum products globally which critics, especially in the U.S., argue that indirectly supports Russia’s war effort by funneling money into its economy.

In response, the US proposed tariffs and trade measures targeting India’s exports to discourage this behavior.

'No matter how much pressure comes, we will withstand it': PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reiterated that his government will not compromise on the interests of farmers and small-scale industries, cautioning that "pressure on us may increase, but we will bear it".

"Today in the world, everyone is busy doing politics based on economic interests. From this land of Ahmedabad, I will tell my small entrepreneurs, my small shopkeeper brothers and sisters, my farmer brothers and sisters, my animal husbandry brothers and sisters and I am saying this on the land of Gandhi.

"Be it the small entrepreneurs, farmers, or animal keepers of my country, for everyone, I promise you again and again, your interests are paramount for Modi," PM Modi said, addressing a gathering in Ahmedabad.

"My government will never let any harm come to the small entrepreneurs, farmers, and animal keepers. No matter how much pressure comes, we will keep increasing our strength to withstand," he added.