Trump Tariffs: Over Half Americans Oppose 50% Tariff On Indian Imports Over Russian Oil, New Survey Reveals
The survey also found that an overwhelming 64% of respondents viewed India's growing economic influence on the global stage as a "good thing”.
A new survey by a United States think tank has found that 53% of Americans opposed Donald Trump’s tariffs on India over Russian oil imports, while 43% supported them. This comes as President Donald Trump recently imposed steep tariffs on long-term ally India, raising them to 50% on some products.
"I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," Trump said in a social media post on Aug. 3. The additional 25% tariff on Indian goods is set to come into place likely on Aug. 27. This takes the total tariffs on Indian goods to 50% for many products, which is among the highest against any US trading partner.
"Given American voters' strong support for protectionist tariffs in principle, that's a surprising response," said Patrick Basham, Founding Director of the Democracy Institute and its lead pollster, as per an NDTV report.
The respondents were evenly split: 44% believed Trump's new tariff policy was good for America, while 44% thought they were not. "Although Americans remain steadfast in their support of Trump's tariffs as an instrument of industrial policy, they are unimpressed by his increasing use of tariffs to leverage geopolitical decisions on his allies,” Basham further noted on the findings.
The survey also found that an overwhelming 64% of respondents viewed India's growing economic influence on the global stage as a "good thing”.
The only negative view with regard to India among Americans seemed to stem from the H1B visa issue. The report highlighted that over 60% of respondents supported its termination. The programme currently allows lakhs of skilled Indian professionals to work in the US businesses across tech and other industries, a move that clashes with Trump’s ‘America First’ policy.
"The argument that H1-B visas prioritise foreigners over American workers, and thereby take jobs away from Americans, resonates very strongly with the American people," Basham noted. Trump has been using this argument to seek reforms in the H1B visa policy, which can have a significant impact on Indian tech workers in the United States.
The telephone survey was conducted between Aug. 3 and Aug. 5. In the survey, 1,500 likely American voters participated, sharing their views on Trump’s tariff policies.
