There has been a commotion in the global market after US President Donald Trump’s dumping of rice statement. Now, a remark by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been hitting the headlines in the mainstream media. She said that global trade is increasingly getting weaponised through tariffs and other measures. Not only this, she warned that India will have to negotiate meticulously in a changing global environment.
Her remarks emerged amid Trump imposition of Tariffs
Notably, these remarks emerged amid US President Trump’s earlier imposition of a 25% duty on India, mentioning the trade deficit, adding another 25% tariffs associated with India’s Russian oil imports. Recently, Mexico has announced steep tariff hikes on imports from various countries, such as India.
In an event, the finance minister said: “Trade is getting weaponised through Tariffs and many other measures, and India will have to negotiate its way carefully in this, and not just take care of Tariffs but I think overall our economic strength is what is going to give us that additional advantage”. Furthermore, she said that it is now very clear globally that trade is no longer free and fair.
Some countries are openly embracing Tariffs without any scrutiny
In addition, she stated that India has only acted to safeguard its domestic industries from unfair competition. She also noted that what she called a double standard in global trade, whereas Tariffs are often criticised, she asserted that some countries are now openly embracing them without facing scrutiny. Ultimately, she added, suddenly we have newer people coming up saying we will come up with tariff barriers and there’s no questioning, so that seems to be the new normal.