'Don't pick fights with powerful nations': Zoho's Sridhar Vembu after Trump imposes 25% tariffs on India

Chennai-based SaaS giant Zoho Corporation founder and Chief Scientist Sridhar Vembu has urged Indian political leaders to exercise caution in foreign policy, warning against unnecessary confrontations with powerful nations as the country works to build its strategic and technological capabilities. 

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“On tech sovereignty, we still have a lot of work to do as a nation,” Vembu wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter), adding that Zoho is investing heavily in various areas of technology and plans to do more. He emphasised that the next two decades will be crucial for India due to its favorable demographics and youthful talent pool.

Vembu commended the government's diplomatic efforts but cautioned against provocative actions in the wake of US President Donald Trump's decision to impose 25% tariffs on Indian imports as well as a penalty for buying Russian oil. 

“Even as we seek to build advanced capabilities, we need to maintain good international standing. Our government and our Prime Minister are doing a commendable job,” he noted.

“It is not in our national interest to pick fights with powerful nations. I hope our entire political class realizes this. As a wise statesman counseled, ‘we must bide our time,’” Vembu added.

On tech sovereignty, we still have a lot of work to do as a nation. As a company, we are investing heavily in numerous areas of tech and we have pledged to do even more.

The next 2 decades are critical because we have favorable demographics and we have to use all that youthful…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) July 30, 2025

Vembu's remarks came after Trump imposed 25% tariffs on India and subsequently lashed out at India over its dealings with Russia, saying he had no interest in their partnership and that both nations could “take their dead economies down together.”

“I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let's keep it that way,” Trump earlier wrote on social media.

I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s…

— Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) July 31, 2025