Take a new trade approach in response to Trump 2.0

Lowering tariffs will help India sign FTAs with others. Broadly, we should focus more on trade in services

- MANOJ PANT

In my previous article, ‘Trump and the Threat to Global Trade: Much Ado About Nothing?’ in Mint on 20 January (shorturl.at/MaKRI), I had made three predictions: One, that Trump will bring back unilateralism; two, that he is likely to repeat the tariff actions of his first tenure; and three, that he is unlikely to succeed (just like in the past). While the first two predictions stand vindicated, the future is yet to unfold. I also pointed out that his success in reducing America’s trade deficits would be good for India’s trade in services.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now completed a round of discussions with US President Donald Trump. While little has been signed on the dotted line, the contours of a planned India-US deal are now clear, though it would not be (as the media was expecting) only about trade and tariffs.

On the first point, while the world is truly shocked at the unilateral tariff announcements by the US president, this is just a repeat of the country’s actions in the 1950s.