'As Anticipated': Uday Kotak Underlines 'US Absolute Power' Amid Trump's 500% Tariff Threats
Uday Kotak's remark comes in the backdrop of recent plans of the Trump administration to levy a 500% tariff on all countries who are purchasing Russian oil.
Uday Kotak, chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank, took to social media platform X to state that his prediction in 2024 regarding the trajectory that the Donald Trump-led US administration would take was "playing out as anticipated".
"My tweet on US absolute power, in November 2024. Playing out as anticipated," Kotak wrote, as retweeted his earlier post.
"The US is the absolute power on planet earth: military, finance, technology. Under Donald Trump it will leverage dominance. Every country has to recognise and prepare. In finance, geopolitics, trade and elsewhere. Is US fiscal deficit a chink in its armour?" Kotak had said back then.
The top banker's reiteration of his views comes in the backdrop of recent plans from the Trump administration to levy a 500% tariff on all countries who are purchasing Russian oil.
The 'Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025' Bill being considered by US authorities is conditional to Russia, or actors on its behalf, refusing to negotiate peace with Ukraine, violate a peace agreement, invade Ukraine once again or try to overthrow or undermine the Ukrainian government.
This legislation has an additional clause where "the President must increase the rate of duty on all goods and services imported into the United States from countries that knowingly engage in the exchange of Russian-origin uranium and petroleum products to at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services.”
India is one of the most-tariffed US trading partner, with the country's exports subjected to a total of 50% levies. Washington had first imposed 25% so-called reciprocal tariffs against India, and later added an additional 25% levy to penalise the country for its continued purchase of Russian crude oil.
Kotak, however, pointed towards US fiscal deficit as "chink in its armour" in his X post. One of the stated goals of Trump's tariff policy is trim the fiscal deficit which the US has with several trading partners.
On this front, tariffs has yielded some success, as the budget deficit for fiscal 2025 was down 2% to $1.78 trillion, down $1.82 trillion in fiscal 2024, per the data released by Washington in October. The US follows the September-October fiscal year cycle.
