The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) early this week dismissed online posts that claimed the central government is reviewing the list of US goods exempted from tariffs or planning to suspend bilateral agreements with the US.
The ministry's official fact-checking handle flagged the reports as “fake news” and accused two X (formerly Twitter) accounts of spreading misinformation.
The post in question was originally shared by the X handle “China in English” which stated: “Indian Media | The Indian government begins reviewing the list of US products exempted from tariffs... and declares: ‘No privileges without mutual respect.’”
The ministry also called out another X handle named “Middle Eastern Affairs” for sharing similar claims. One of their posts read: “Unprecedented statement from New Delhi: India is considering suspending or reviewing certain bilateral agreements with the US if hostile economic policies continue.”
MEA’s fact-checking unit said that the handle “Middle Eastern Affairs” has been “making several social media posts with FAKE News.”
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These claims surfaced in the wake of former US President Donald Trump announcing a fresh round of 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods last week.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused New Delhi of maintaining some of the “most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country”.
“While India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high...,” Trump said.
He followed up with another post asserting that India and Russia could “take their dead economies and go down together.”
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Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the government had begun engaging with exporters to gauge the impact of the punitive tariffs.
Reports claim that, in the government said the move had caught officials in New Delhi by surprise, though efforts were on to ensure that the upcoming bilateral trade talks remained on track.
A US delegation is expected to arrive in New Delhi on August 24 for the sixth round of trade negotiations.
The Ministry of External Affairs indicated that the relationship between India and the US has persisted through various challenges over the years and expressed optimism that the bilateral ties are currently on an upward path, just two days following Donald Trump's announcement of a 25 percent tariff on Indian products.
During a weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal indicated that the current trade issues with the US will not affect New Delhi's security collaboration with Washington.
Jaiswal also mentioned that India is aware of the US sanctions imposed on six Indian companies for their purchase of oil from Iran.
Last month, Trump declared a 25 percent tariff along with penalties on India after both parties failed to reach an interim trade agreement following extensive negotiations. Trump additionally criticized India for its acquisitions of military equipment and oil from Russia, despite Moscow facing significant sanctions from the US due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.