<p>NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he will not compromise the interests of the country&#8217;s farmers even if he has to pay a heavy price, in his first comments after U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s salvo of a 50% tariff on Indian goods.</p>
<p>&#8220;For us, our farmers&#8217; welfare is supreme,&#8221; Modi said at an event in New Delhi. &#8220;India will never compromise on the wellbeing of its farmers, dairy (sector) and fishermen. And I know personally I will have to pay a heavy price for it,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday, raising the total duty to 50% — among the highest imposed on any U.S. trading partner. The new tariff, effective August 28, is meant to penalize India for continuing to buy Russian oil, Trump has said.</p>
<p>While Modi did not explicitly mention the U.S. or the collapsed trade talks, his comments marked a clear defense of India’s position.</p>
<p>Trade talks between India and the United States broke down after five rounds of negotiations over disagreement on opening India&#8217;s vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases.</p>
<p>India’s foreign ministry has called the U.S. decision “extremely unfortunate” and said it would “take all necessary steps to protect its national interests.”</p>
<p>The U.S. has yet to impose similar tariffs for China, the biggest buyer of Russian oil. Experts say China&#8217;s dominance in rare earth minerals — critical to high-tech industries — gives it leverage that India currently lacks.</p>
<p>&#8220;The U.S. tariff hike lacks logic,&#8221; Dammu Ravi, secretary of economic relations in India&#8217;s foreign ministry, told reporters.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is a temporary aberration, a temporary problem that the country will face, but in course of time, we are confident that the world will find solutions.&#8221;</p>
<p>India is already signalling it may seek to rebalance its global partnerships. Modi is preparing for his first visit to China in over seven years, suggesting a potential diplomatic realignment amid growing tensions with Washington.</p>
<p>Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday he would initiate a conversation among the BRICS group of developing nations about how to tackle Trump&#8217;s tariffs.</p>
<p>He said he planned to call Modi and China&#8217;s Xi Jinping. The BRICS group also includes Russia and South Africa.</p>
<p>India&#8217;s Ravi added that &#8220;like-minded countries will look for cooperation and economic engagement that will be mutually beneficial to all sides.&#8221;</p>
<p>MODI FACES MOUNTING DOMESTIC PRESSURE</p>
<p>Both supporters of Modi and the opposition Congress party have called on him to respond firmly to the U.S. tariffs, urging action &#8220;with self-respect and dignity.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;India&#8217;s national interest is supreme. Any nation that arbitrarily penalizes India for its time-tested policy of strategic autonomy, rooted in the ideology of non-alignment, does not understand the steel frame India is made of,&#8221; Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.</p>
<p>Indian industry, already struggling with global headwinds, has expressed alarm.</p>
<p>Sudhir Sekhri, chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council, said: &#8220;There is no way the industry can absorb such a steep hike&#8221;. He demanded fiscal support from the government.</p>
<p>Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani&#8217;s Reliance Industries in its annual report said continuing geopolitical and tariff-related uncertainties may affect trade flows and demand-supply balance.</p>
<p>India&#8217;s equity market, which has been weakening due to tariff risks and muted earnings growth slipped another 0.5% on Thursday to three-month lows. The reaction was muted as investors bet on the tariffs being negotiated down.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Manoj Kumar Sarita Chaganti Singh, Nikunj Ohri in New Delhi; editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Raju Gopalakrishnan)</p>

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Modi Says He Won’t Back Down After Trump Slaps 50% Tariff On Indian Goods