Harshita Rai
A wave of anti-US sentiment has erupted across India after US President Donald Trump slapped an unprecedented 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian crude oil. The penalty — among the steepest tariffs imposed on any country — has provoked sharp backlash in India, where calls for boycotts of American multinational corporations are now gathering momentum.
Prominent yoga guru Baba Ramdev has urged Indians to boycott Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Subway, KFC, and McDonald’s, declaring, “Not a single Indian should be seen at their counters. If this happens, chaos will ensue in America.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the issue, reinforced his ‘swadeshi’ and ‘vocal for local’ message, urging Indians to buy products “made by the sweat of our people.” He stressed that India must embrace its own economic strength to achieve the goal of becoming the world’s third-largest economy. Taking a swipe at Trump, Modi said, “There is a politics of economic selfishness in the world, and everyone is busy protecting their own self-interest.”
A Second Blow from Trump
The tariff bombshell deepened on August 6, when Trump added a fresh 25 per cent penalty over the existing 25 per cent reciprocal tariff. In a Truth Social post, he accused India of profiteering from Russian oil sales on the global market, saying, “They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA.”
New Delhi dismissed the move as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” vowing to defend national interests. The new penalty took effect on August 27, pushing the trade rift between the two democracies into uncharted territory.
Boycott Threat and Economic Stakes
The threat of boycott is not an empty one. With a population of 1.5 billion, India’s rejection of American brands could be devastating. AAP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal, in an open letter to Trump, evoked the Swadeshi Movement of 1905, warning that a united Indian boycott today would hit the US harder than India.
The stakes are high. McDonald’s operator Westlife Foodworld Limited reported ₹2,390 crore in revenue in FY24, while PepsiCo India clocked ₹8,200 crore in the same period, making India one of PepsiCo’s top 15 markets worldwide. The company has invested close to ₹4,000 crore in the last three years alone.
The Bigger Picture
While Trump portrays tariffs as a “crucial aspect” of his push for peace in Ukraine, critics argue the move is protectionist, rooted in America’s struggle to counterbalance rising economies like India’s. The tariffs have also come at a time when global boycotts of US products are gaining traction in countries like France, the UK, and Canada.
For India, this clash has revived an old nationalist sentiment — the Swadeshi ethos that once powered its freedom movement. The difference now is scale: in a globalised economy, if India channels that spirit into boycotts and local purchasing power, American multinationals could face an unprecedented crisis.
