CHENNAI: Actor and Rajya Sabha MP Kamal Haasan on Wednesday hit out at the United States for imposing 50% tariffs on Indian exports, calling it “a new imperial tool” meant to penalise India for pursuing its energy security.

In a statement, Haasan said the move was “not about trade, nor about Ukraine, but a political cudgel” wielded against India while Washington treated China with “whispers and half-measures” owing to its control over critical supply chains. “Tariffs on India are wielded like hammers,” he said, stressing that self-reliance was “strategic insurance, not a slogan.”

He expressed solidarity with exporters in textiles, shrimp, gems and jewellery, and steel, and urged the Centre and States to extend immediate relief. His suggestions included a two-year moratorium on MSME loan repayments, clearance of pending GST and export refunds, cheaper export credit, temporary concessions in power tariffs, freight support, and a single-window compliance mechanism.

Calling for unity across party lines, Haasan said the present challenge must be treated as a turning point. “This is a moment for national unity. Our disagreements can wait; the Republic must stand as one,” he said, adding that India must use the crisis to secure a role in global supply chains of semiconductors, batteries and rare earths. “India has outlasted empires. It will outlast tariffs, too,” he declared.