Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Amid growing concerns and worldwide condemnation over US President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff rollout against 90-plus countries, a leading American Marxist economist has termed the controversial move chiefly against India as “a mouse hitting an elephant!”
US economist Richard Wolff told TV network Russia Today that America is acting like the “world’s tough guy” against India, but is only shooting itself in the foot, as it is pushing the BRICS bloc to emerge as an economic alternative to the West, the media reported on Saturday.
“India is now, according to the United Nations, the largest country on Earth. The United States telling India what to do is like a mouse hitting his fist to an elephant,” he said.
The US tariffs of 50 percent took effect on Wednesday on many Indian products, doubling an existing duty as President Donald Trump sought to punish New Delhi ostensibly for buying Russian oil, which, ironically, China buys more. as part of a campaign to end the Ukraine war. Trump mounted pressure on India over the energy transactions, which the West, which is also buying from Russia, claims is a key source of revenue for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
In an interview with Russia Today, Wolff said that if the US shuts off India, it will find other places to sell its exports, and the move will only strengthen the BRICS nations.
“But like Russia found another place to sell its energy, India will also sell its exports no longer to the United States, but to the rest of the BRICS.”
The BRICS is now a bloc of 10 countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. It aims to counterweigh Western financial dominance and is exploring alternatives to challenge the US dollar’s dominance.
“If you take the BRICS bloc, its total share of world output is 35 percent, vis-à-vis the G7’s 28 percent.”
Wolff warned about Trump tariffs nourishing the BRICS bloc. “And what you’re doing is your hothouse fashion, developing the BRICS to be an ever larger, more integrated and successful economic alternative to the West. We are watching a historic moment.”
Trump has dismissed BRICS on multiple occasions, as a “little group” that is “fading out fast,” claiming in February that “BRICS is dead.” He also threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on the group if it created a common currency to dedollarize the world economy, and said, “They can go find another sucker Nation.”
The economist said India has had a long-standing relationship with Russia since the Soviet era, and reminded Washington, “You are playing with a very different adversary.”
“But for those with some 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.”
Officially, New Delhi has criticised Washington’s move as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”