Somebody isn’t happy with you, but you are big enough to weather it: Fiji PM to PM Modi amid tariff row

Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka remarked on the Trump tariffs taking effect in India from today, telling PM Narendra Modi that “someone is not happy with you”, but believing that he can “weather those discomforts”.

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs have taken effect, sending jitters down business owners, exporters and experts. Earlier, the tariff had amounted to 25 per cent, but it was later raised to 50 per cent on India’s import of Russian oil.

“Now, what is happening out there is impacting your relationship with the United States. The recent announcements of tariffs and some things that are coming towards Prime Minister Modi’s direction… I told him the other day, somebody is not very happy with you, but then you are big enough to weather those discomforts,” Rabuka said, delivering a lecture on ‘Ocean of Peace’ at the Sapru House.

The prime minister of the South Pacific nation arrived in Delhi on Sunday on a three-day trip to shore up Fiji’s ties with India in a range of areas such as maritime security, trade, health, digital technology and capacity building.

At the ICWA event, Rabuka said, “Our job is to take it to the world that we have declared this concept of ‘Ocean of Peace’ in the Pacific. It is up to the United Nations… to embrace it and take it up, for regional leaders to embrace it and take it up… in regional concepts and regional leaders’ meetings, and, hopefully, we can spread peace.” In his address, he emphasised on the multiple pillars of this vision.

Around 55 per cent of India’s exports to the US, valued at approximately USD 47-48 billion, will now face a pricing disadvantage of 30–35 per cent, making them less competitive compared to products from China, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, and other Southeast and South Asian nations.

With inputs from agencies