Trump's tariff scare: Ramdev urges boycott of US products; says ‘no Indian should be seen at counters of American brands’

NEW DELHI: Yoga guru Ramdev has called on Indians to boycott American companies and brands in response to Washington’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on imports from India, terming the move “political bullying, hooliganism, and dictatorship.” “Indian citizens should strongly oppose the 50% tariffs that America has imposed on India as political bullying, hooliganism and dictatorship. American companies and brands should be completely boycotted,” Ramdev told news agency ANI. He further said: “Not a single Indian should be seen at the counters of Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Subway, KFC, or McDonald's. There should be such a massive boycott. If this happens, chaos will ensue in America. Inflation will increase in America to the point where Trump himself may have to retract these tariffs. Trump has committed a blunder by turning against India.” The US initially imposed 25% tariffs on Indian imports earlier this month. On August 27, President Donald Trump doubled the duties, citing India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. Meanwhile, house foreign affairs committee democrats have criticised Trump for targeting India while sparing China and other nations buying larger quantities of Russian energy. “It’s almost like it’s not about Ukraine at all,” the Committee remarked in a post on X, accusing the administration of “hurting Americans & sabotaging the US-India relationship in the process.” They noted: “It would be one thing if the Trump administration had opted to follow through on the threat of secondary sanctions for any country that purchases Russian oil. But the decision to focus solely on India has resulted in perhaps the most confusing policy outcome of all: China, the largest importer of Russian energy, is still purchasing oil at discount prices and has so far been spared similar punishment.” The criticism came the same day the tariffs took effect, as per a draft notice by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The order was issued under Executive Order 14329 of August 6, 2025, titled “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of the Russian Federation.”