Ramesh claimed that now all this talk of reciprocal tariffs by the US President is calling into question a consumption tax like GST
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The Congress said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump's remarks on reciprocal tariffs are challenging a consumption tax such as the GST and questioned whether his "good friend in New Delhi" would oppose it when it comes to national sovereignty, PTI reported.
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As per PTI, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that his party has long been calling for a GST 2.0 that will make GST a truly Good and Simple Tax, as it was intended to be.
In a post on X, it has called for the barest minimum of rates and vastly reformed compliance rules.
"Now President Trump is threatening the very existence of GST. By its very structure, GST is applicable to imports but not to exports. This has never been disputed," he said, PTI reported.
Ramesh claimed that now all this talk of reciprocal tariffs by the US President is calling into question a consumption tax like GST.
"WTO apart, national sovereignty is at stake here. Will President Trump's good friend in New Delhi, who keeps trumpeting that he is a Vishwaguru, stand up?" the Congress leader said in an apparent swipe at PM Modi.
Ramesh also shared an article on X which claimed that the latest round of proposed tariffs from Trump includes a response to what the White House describes as "unfair" taxes, specifically, value-added taxes such as Australia's Goods and Services Tax, PTI reported.
Donald Trump is readying tit-for-tat tariffs on global partners
US President Donald Trump is taking additional action to upset the world trade system, with plans to sign an order at the earliest that would require that US tariffs on imports match the tax rates charged by other countries.
“It’s time to be reciprocal,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “You’ll be hearing that word a lot. Reciprocal. If they charge us, we charge them.”
A reciprocal tariffs order could amount to a substantial tax increase to be shouldered largely by US consumers and businesses as the Census Bureau reported that the country had total imports of $4.1 trillion last year. The tariffs could set off retaliatory measures by trading partners that could roil growth around the globe and reset where the US stands with allies and rivals alike.
Many of America’s dominant trading partners are preparing for an economic rupture in reaction to Trump’s possible actions.
In response to the steel and aluminium tariffs announced on Monday, European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said: “Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered... they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures.” That means motorcycles, jeans, bourbon and peanut butter from the US could face new taxes abroad. Mexico and Canada—America’s two largest trading partners—have also prepared countermeasures.
“Of course, even if President Trump views reciprocal tariffs as an alternative to more sweeping measures at the moment, we are entering only the fourth week of a four-year presidential term and it seems likely there will be many further tariff announcements,” a Goldman Sachs’ analyst said.
(With agency inputs)
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