The U.S. Pushing India to Make Crippling Concessions

The trade 'barriers' that the US has been complaining about are policy choices to protect citizens, enforce competition and assert sovereignty for India.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

Although US President Donald Trump's rhetoric and tariff actions have been projected as a major threat to India's trade and attributed to India's "protectionism", the underlying push from Washington has been about securing greater access for US companies to Indian markets.

Since 2014, India has tightened regulations aimed at safeguarding consumers and domestic producers, and these have become the main friction points.

ITIF, USTR Turn on the Heat Just days before the Pahalgam massacre—an attack that many in India felt drew a muted and subdued response from Washington despite the US describing India as a key ally—a Washington-based technology and trade policy think-tank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), released a report ranking India as the second most problematic trading partner after China.

The restrained US reaction to the terror strike was seen in New Delhi as linked to Washington's growing irritation over India's refusal to accept American trade demands, a frustration that was being channeled through reports and statements branding India as protectionist.

Its 10 March Trade Imbalance Index flagged India's $45.7 billion trade surplus with the US, average tariffs of 12-14% compared to America's 2.2%, and what it called one of the world's most restrictive services markets. The report criticized India's high duties on IT hardware, medical devices, solar equipment and pharmaceuticals, the expansion of its "equalization levy" on foreign digital firms, the proposed Digital Competition Act modeled on Europe's Digital Markets Act, and antitrust penalties against Meta and Google.