India should keep cool, keep calm, and carry on |
There is no trade war today between India and the United States. On the other hand, there is not exactly peace. In early October, President Donald Trump called India “the tariff king, bringing to the fore bilateral trade frictions that have been simmering beneath the surface for a while. They`ve already called us to make a deal,” he said. “We didn`t even call them. They called us to make a deal, which is, like, shocking to people. ”The point the US president was making in his comments — primarily for the consumption of the US domestic audience — is that he is “winning” in the tussle in trade relations with India. Winning in the public spotlight matters more than anything else to this president. Recognising this, India should ignore the president`s rhetoric. It should continue to stay the course in its current approach to trade negotiations with the US. To date, New Delhi has been quite patient with the Trump administration. It understands that the prevailing weltanschauung in Washington is more protectionist than it has been for decades. Unlike China, which has announced targeted tit-for-tat tariffs on US goods, New Delhi has largely worked behind the scenes with US officials, thus preventing any escalation.
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