Some of these imports could be coming from foreign manufacturers located in China who export to India and other countries. We shouldn't think that it's only Chinese manufacturers

P Vaidyanathan Iyer: If China comes to the discussion table with the US, then probably there will be some resolution. But what if China digs in? How will it affect India and global trade?

- PRAVEEN KHANNA

It's difficult for me to spell out what the consequences will be if China takes a hardline position. Increasingly then, both sides will find it difficult to back off. Then the law of unintended consequences will take over. So if there is no off-ramp for either side, then we are looking at a very challenging scenario.

P Vaidyanathan Iyer: The tariffs on India are not as high as it is on some of its manufacturing rivals. What the US has done to India has been kind, would you say that?

As far as we are concerned, the share of exports is relatively lower in the overall scheme of things for the economy. The numbers tell their own story in terms of the reciprocal tariff. It is very difficult to say that one is better or worse off. I wouldn't want to go into that relative argument. But the overall sense of uncertainty is more important and that is difficult to quantify.

P Vaidyanathan Iyer: The RBI Governor (Sanjay Malhotra) spoke of the uncertainty these tariffs have resulted in; he said this is negative to growth, negative for global trade, and India isn't insulated from this.

Yes, because you need to look at the first round, second round and third round effects. It is not just the exports to the United States, but to what extent you are able to absorb and to what extent the consumers are able to absorb in the US. Is there a combination of the two that works? That is one part. The second part is, if there are other countries who are affected by this, are you better off or not, because if there are other countries which face a fairly difficult tariff structure and they have a much higher share of exports to GDP and if they are affected, then our exports to those countries can also be affected.