 "President Donald Trump with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House. The overall 50 per cent tariff and Russian penalty on India comes even as officials continue to hammer out a trade deal, which has been ongoing since February. File image/AP")
From McDonald’s and Coca-Cola to Amazon and Apple, American multinationals are facing boycott calls in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s supporters and business leaders rail against steep new US tariffs.
India, the world’s most populous nation, is a crucial market for US brands that have rapidly expanded to tap a growing base of affluent consumers.
India is the biggest market by users for Meta’s WhatsApp, and Domino’s operates more restaurants there than any other brand. Pepsi and Coca-Cola dominate store shelves, while queues still form when a new Apple store opens or Starbucks offers discounts.
The backlash follows President Donald Trump’s imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, a move that rattled exporters and strained New Delhi–Washington relations. While there is no immediate sign that sales have been hit, calls to “buy local” and shun American products are spreading both online and offline.
Business leaders urge self-reliance
Manish Chowdhary, co-founder of skincare company Wow Skin Science, posted a video on LinkedIn urging support for Indian farmers and startups, calling for “Made in India” to become a “global obsession.” He pointed to South Korea’s success in making its food and beauty products internationally recognised.
“We have lined up for products from thousands of miles away. We have proudly spent on brands that we don’t own, while our own makers fight for attention in their own country,” he said.
Rahm Shastry, CEO of driver-on-demand service DriveU, wrote on LinkedIn that “India should have its own home-grown Twitter/Google/YouTube/WhatsApp/Facebook — like China has.”
Foreign competition, domestic ambition
Local retail brands do compete with foreign players like Starbucks in India, but expanding abroad has proved more difficult. By contrast, Indian IT services firms such as Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys have become firmly embedded in the global economy, providing software solutions to clients worldwide.
Whether the current nationalist calls will dent the popularity of US brands in India remains unclear, but the tariff dispute has added fresh strain to an otherwise deep trade relationship between the two democracies.