How should India face Trump’s tariff onslaught
US President Donald Trump fired a series of missiles at India on Wednesday. The biggest one was the imposition of 25 per cent tariff plus penalty on goods imported from India. Trump is bent on punishing a defiant India for buying crude oil and military equipment from Russia. The enduring ties between New Delhi and Moscow have rubbed him the wrong way, never mind his jibe that he doesn’t care what India does with Russia. “They can take their dead economies down together,” he said with disdain. For the record, India is not only the fourth-largest economy in the world but also the fastest-growing among the major ones. Calling India a “dead economy” amid trade deal talks is a telltale sign: Trump is treading the path of provocation to test India’s patience and resilience. What he wants is to browbeat Delhi into conceding America’s demands, such as duty concessions in the agriculture and dairy sectors.
