New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) Prominent US economist Jeffrey Sachs on Thursday strongly criticised President Donald Trump’s decision to impose steep punitive tariffs on India, calling it one of the worst blunders in American foreign policy.

In an interview on the Breaking Points show with Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, Sachs said Trump’s tariffs were “not a strategy, but sabotage.”

He warned that the move, instead of giving the US leverage, ended up pushing India closer to other emerging economies under the BRICS grouping.

“These tariffs on India are not a strategy; they’re sabotage. It’s the stupidest tactical move in US foreign policy,” Sachs said, adding that the duties had “unified BRICS like never before” and undermined Washington’s own long-term interests in Asia.

Calling Trump “the great unifier of the BRICS,” Sachs noted that the 25 per cent tariff penalty quickly strengthened cooperation between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

“The opposite of what Trump’s advisers thought would happen is exactly what happened,” he said.

The Columbia University professor did not hold back from criticising Trump’s allies either.

He labelled South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham as “the worst senator in the US” and “a fool.”

He also targeted Trump’s former trade adviser Peter Navarro, calling him “probably the most incompetent PhD my former department has ever granted.”

According to Sachs, the tariffs caused lasting damage to trust between New Delhi and Washington.

“By going after India, a country the US has been cultivating for years, Trump destroyed trust overnight,” he said.

He added that even if the tariffs are eventually withdrawn, India has already learned that “you cannot trust the United States.”

The economist stressed that the tariffs brought “zero practical impact” in terms of negotiations, but “completely undermined a strand of US foreign policy built up over decades.”

–IANS

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