"When Donald Trump won his second term, India's ruling elite must have been quietly pleased. Prime minister Narendra Modi's performative courting of King Donald, both in and out of office, suggested a special chemistry between these two titans of the hard right. As Trump set about remaking global trade and geopolitics by weaponising tariffs, India got into trade negotiations with the US early."
"Instead, Trump first slapped India, in April, with a 25% tariff that in itself exceeded the rate levied on most US allies. This has now doubled to 50%, as punishment for India for buying, refining and exporting Russian oil during that country's war on Ukraine. This tariff rate will make all nonexempt Indian exports to the US uncompetitive. Modi's much-touted special relationship with Trump now looks risible."
India sought a favourable trade deal with the US after Narendra Modi's close public courting of Donald Trump and early negotiations despite red lines on agriculture and dairy. New Delhi expected a deal reflecting its economic weight and strategic value as a counterweight to China. Instead, the US imposed a 25% tariff in April, later raised to 50% as punishment for India's purchase, refining and export of Russian oil during the Ukraine war, making most nonexempt Indian exports uncompetitive. US interventions during India–Pakistan skirmishes, public dismissals of India's economy, and accusations of war profiteering deepened diplomatic rupture.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]