I don’t support (imposing) tariffs on India. I think that would be really bad. It would lead to a trade war. And I don’t think it’s good for either country,” Mr. Subramanyam said.
| Photo Credit: AP

U.S. Congressman-elect Suhas Subramanyam has said he is opposed to imposing tariffs on India as it will lead to a trade war between the two countries.  

Mr. Subramanyam’s comments came amid the likelihood of higher tariffs on Indian exports by the new Trump administration.

“I don’t support (imposing) tariffs on India. I think that would be really bad. It would lead to a trade war. And I don’t think it’s good for either country,” Mr. Subramanyam told in an interview. Ahead of his election as U.S. President, Donald Trump had taken a potshot at India’s tariff structure and talked about imposing reciprocal tax on countries like China and India.  

Also Read | U.S. Elections 2024 results: Suhas Subramanyam wins Congressional race from Virginia

With Mr. Trump set to assume charge as U.S. president, there is a likelihood of higher tariffs on Indian exports.

“There’s a lot of businesses that do really great work in India and a lot of Indian companies are expanding to the U.S. So the more our countries work together economically, the stronger we’ll be,” Mr. Subramanyam said.

Getting ready to be sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives, which plays a key role in shaping the foreign policy of the United States, Mr. Subramanyam said he wants to be someone who promotes democracy around the world.

“India, for instance, is one of the largest democracies, and the U.S.-India relationship is very important to both countries,” he said.

Mr. Subramanyam, 38, is the sixth Indian-American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

He joins Indian Americans Dr. Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna and Shri Thanedar in the so-called Samosa Caucus.

He was declared elected from the 10th Congressional District of Virginia and is the first Indian-American to be elected from the East Coast.

He also advocated an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system.

“I’m hearing a lot about immigration, especially people on H-1B visas trying to get a path to citizenship and a Green Card at least. And at least a change of status,” Mr. Subramanyam said.

“We need an immigration system overhaul in the United States. We need to focus on legal immigration. There’s a lot of talk about undocumented immigrants, and I certainly support securing our border, but we need to do more than just that,” he said.

Mr. Subramanyam said he would also oppose any move by the incoming Trump administration to cut large-scale federal jobs and is looking to be a champion of the federal workforce.

.”I want to make sure as they look at the government overhaul that’s being proposed, that doesn’t mean firing federal workers or cancelling federal contracts,” he said.

He said he looks forward to being a champion for the federal workforce in Virginia. “I will oppose any efforts (of the incoming administration to cut federal jobs),” he said.

Washington:

“Samosa Caucus” — the group of Indian-Americans in US Congress — has a strong chance of getting another member next year with the victory of Suhas Subramanyam in the Virginia Democratic primaries.

He won the intra-party election on Tuesday to pick the Democratic candidate to contest the November general election for the House of Representatives from a constituency held by it.

The constituency includes some suburbs of Washington.

Meanwhile, in primaries in New Jersey last week, Indian-American Rajesh Mohan won the Republican ticket for a House seat but faces an uphill battle because it is in a strongly Democratic constituency.

There are now five Indian-Americans in the House of Representatives, all Democrats who call themselves the “Samosa Caucus”: Ami Bera and Ro Khanna from California; Pramila Jayapal from Washington State; Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, and Shri Thanedar from Michigan.

A State Senator, Subramanyam bested 11 other candidates in an ugly contest where his main adversary faced allegations of sexual harassment.

He was backed by the retiring House member Jennifer Wexton, who flipped the seat to the Democratic side in 2018 and was re-elected twice, winning 53 per cent of the votes in 2022 making it a safe seat for the party.

Mr Subramanyam’s family is from Bengaluru.

A 37-year-old lawyer, he was President Barack Obama’s technology advisor working on cybersecurity and modernising government agencies.

In 2019, he was elected to the Virginia General Assembly, and the State Senate last year.

He is also a volunteer medic and firefighter.

Mohan, who defeated his three Republican rivals, will be contesting from a constituency held by a Democrat.

Andrew Kim, who is giving up the seat to run for the US Senate, flipped it from the Republican Party in 2018 and won his second re-election in 2022 by 55 per cent.

Three ratings of the race surveyed by Ballotopedia declared it a solid or safe Democratic seat.

A cardiologist, Mohan received his medical degree from the Delhi University College of Medical Sciences.

In New Jersey, Ravinder Singh Bhalla, the Mayor of Hoboken, lost the Democratic Party primary for the House seat to Rob Menendez who currently holds the seat.

The sitting representative’s father, Senator Bob Menendez, is on trial on corruption charges but undeterred, he waged an ugly campaign against Bhalla, a turban-wearing Sikh, alleging that he made quid-pro-quo deals with the Mayor of a neighbouring city and used images marring his appearance in TV ads.

Susheela Jayapal, the sister of influential Representative Pramila Jayapal, lost the primary for a Democratic seat in Oregon.

Pramila Jayapal heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of leftist Democratic Party legislators.

She represents a constituency in Washington State, a neighbour of Oregon where her sister Susheela Jayapal was a county commissioner and was among several leftist candidates who faced an ideological backlash in the Democratic primaries.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

“Samosa Caucus” — the group of Indian-Americans in US Congress — has a strong chance of getting another member next year with the victory of Suhas Subramanyam in the Virginia Democratic primaries.

He won the intra-party election on Tuesday to pick the Democratic candidate to contest the November general election for the House of Representatives from a constituency held by it.

The constituency includes some suburbs of Washington.

Meanwhile, in primaries in New Jersey last week, Indian-American Rajesh Mohan won the Republican ticket for a House seat but faces an uphill battle because it is in a strongly Democratic constituency.

There are now five Indian-Americans in the House of Representatives, all Democrats who call themselves the “Samosa Caucus”: Ami Bera and Ro Khanna from California; Pramila Jayapal from Washington State; Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, and Shri Thanedar from Michigan.

A State Senator, Subramanyam bested 11 other candidates in an ugly contest where his main adversary faced allegations of sexual harassment.

He was backed by the retiring House member Jennifer Wexton, who flipped the seat to the Democratic side in 2018 and was re-elected twice, winning 53 per cent of the votes in 2022 making it a safe seat for the party.

Mr Subramanyam’s family is from Bengaluru.

A 37-year-old lawyer, he was President Barack Obama’s technology advisor working on cybersecurity and modernising government agencies.

In 2019, he was elected to the Virginia General Assembly, and the State Senate last year.

He is also a volunteer medic and firefighter.

Mohan, who defeated his three Republican rivals, will be contesting from a constituency held by a Democrat.

Andrew Kim, who is giving up the seat to run for the US Senate, flipped it from the Republican Party in 2018 and won his second re-election in 2022 by 55 per cent.

Three ratings of the race surveyed by Ballotopedia declared it a solid or safe Democratic seat.

A cardiologist, Mohan received his medical degree from the Delhi University College of Medical Sciences.

In New Jersey, Ravinder Singh Bhalla, the Mayor of Hoboken, lost the Democratic Party primary for the House seat to Rob Menendez who currently holds the seat.

The sitting representative’s father, Senator Bob Menendez, is on trial on corruption charges but undeterred, he waged an ugly campaign against Bhalla, a turban-wearing Sikh, alleging that he made quid-pro-quo deals with the Mayor of a neighbouring city and used images marring his appearance in TV ads.

Susheela Jayapal, the sister of influential Representative Pramila Jayapal, lost the primary for a Democratic seat in Oregon.

Pramila Jayapal heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of leftist Democratic Party legislators.

She represents a constituency in Washington State, a neighbour of Oregon where her sister Susheela Jayapal was a county commissioner and was among several leftist candidates who faced an ideological backlash in the Democratic primaries.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)