Imposing tariffs on India will lead to trade war, says Congressman-elect Suhas Subramanyam

Washington: US Congressman-elect Suhas Subramanyam has said he is opposed to imposing tariffs on India as it will lead to a trade war between the two countries.  

Subramanyam's comments came amid the likelihood of higher tariffs on Indian exports by the new Trump administration.

“I don't support (imposing) tariffs on India. I think that would be really bad. It would lead to a trade war. And I don't think it's good for either country,” Subramanyam told PTI in an interview.         

Ahead of his election as US President, Donald Trump had taken a potshot at India’s tariff structure and talked about imposing reciprocal tax on countries like China and India.  

With Trump set to assume charge as US president, there is a likelihood of higher tariffs on Indian exports.

“There's a lot of businesses that do really great work in India and a lot of Indian companies are expanding to the US. So the more our countries work together economically, the stronger we'll be,” Subramanyam said.

Getting ready to be sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives, which plays a key role in shaping the foreign policy of the United States, Subramanyam said he wants to be someone who promotes democracy around the world.

“India, for instance, is one of the largest democracies, and the US-India relationship is very important to both countries,” he said.

Subramanyam, 38, is the sixth Indian-American elected to the US House of Representatives.

He joins Indian Americans Dr Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna and Shri Thanedar in the so-called Samosa Caucus.

He was declared elected from the 10th Congressional District of Virginia and is the first Indian-American to be elected from the East Coast.

He also advocated an overhaul of the US immigration system.

“I'm hearing a lot about immigration, especially people on H-1B visas trying to get a path to citizenship and a Green Card at least. And at least a change of status," Subramanyam said.

"We need an immigration system overhaul in the United States. We need to focus on legal immigration. There's a lot of talk about undocumented immigrants, and I certainly support securing our border, but we need to do more than just that,” he said.

Subramanyam said he would also oppose any move by the incoming Trump administration to cut large-scale federal jobs and is looking to be a champion of the federal workforce.

."I want to make sure as they look at the government overhaul that's being proposed, that doesn't mean firing federal workers or cancelling federal contracts,” he said.

He said he looks forward to being a champion for the federal workforce in Virginia.

"I will oppose any efforts (of the incoming administration to cut federal jobs),” he said.