Zerodha's Nithin Kamath criticises Trump's tariff hike

Zerodha co-founder and CEO, Nithin Kamath has called out US President Donald Trump’s relentless tariff impositions and bold remarks on other nations as proof that the world remains under the shadow of the ‘US empire,’ making all others its subjects.

Drawing on data from the Lowy Institute, Rajah and Albayrak (2025) and the IMF (International Monetary Fund’s) Direction of Trade Statistics, Kamath highlighted in a post on his LinkedIn account that China is emerging as the largest trading partner with more than 120 countries globally.

He pointed out that despite this, the US still reigns supreme when it comes to financial and military dominance, as of now.

"In terms of trade, China today is the largest trading partner for over 120 countries. In terms of financial and military dominance, the US remains the most powerful nation, for now. The question is, will the stance of "America first" backfire or not?" Kamath asked.

“In such a globalised and interconnected world, how can you increase tariffs, which will inflict collateral damage, and still hold on to power?” He mused.

Earlier Kamath insisted that India must move away from short-term thinking and focus on the long-term strategy for AI. He added that China is just the latest example of the nation’s growth, by making strides in economic and technological progress which was evident when Chinese DeepSeek made disruption globally. He also voiced out support for DeepSeek being open source.

Recently, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that Trump’s tariffs would lead to higher grocery and fuel prices for American consumers, potentially disrupting auto assembly plants and halting key supplies including steel, aluminium and uranium. In response, he has called on Canadians to boycott US products and rethink travel to the US.