Tariff War: India’s Firm Reply to Trump
It is ironic that U.S. President Donald Trump, who is unaware of the trade between his country and Russia, is raising the import duty on India's purchase of crude oil from Russia by 25 to 50 percent. India, a sovereign nation, will not tolerate Trump's arbitrary actions as it has the right to make decisions in its national interest. Trump mistakenly believes that India will be intimidated by his decisions. However, India was not intimidated by the U.S. even when it deployed its seventh nuclear warship in the Bay of Bengal during the Bangladesh war in 1971.
During that period, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi firmly informed US President Richard Nixon that the United States could not undermine India by supporting Pakistan. This was when India and the Soviet Union (now Russia) entered into a 20-year military agreement in 1971. Russia remains a steadfast ally of India, proven through various crises. Consequently, the current visit of India's Defense Advisor Ajit Doval to Russia holds significant importance, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to China at the month's end is expected to be particularly noteworthy.
There was a time when in the 80s, during the rule of US President Reagan, there used to be talks of the security shield of the 'India-Russia-China' triangle. But in the last 25 years, there has been a qualitative change in India-US relations and they are full of sweetness. Especially after the nuclear agreement between the two countries in 2008, but Mr. Trump is not refraining from adding bitterness to them. He wants to enter into a mutual trade and commercial treaty on his own terms, going against the guidelines of the World Trade Organization, and repeatedly threatens India that he stopped the war going on between India and Pakistan on the 10th of May last year. This statement of his is now being seen as 'unfounded rambling' in India. Since India's independence, it has been its policy that it does not involve any third country in its relations with another country. Therefore, the way Trump is deciding to increase tariffs on India as a punishment regarding India-Russia relations is an attack on the glory of India. The whole country has come together against this. In this context, the statement of opposition Congress leader Shri Rahul Gandhi that America is 'blackmailing' India is very important.
It is evident that both the ruling party and the opposition in India share a common stance regarding the United States. India's Foreign Ministry has expressed its disapproval of the tariff increase in a dignified manner, stating that Mr. Trump's decision is unjust, unreasonable, and inappropriate. Through diplomatic language, India has attempted to persuade Donald Trump to respect the sovereignty of other nations. Recently, India's trade delegation returned from a visit to the United States, where it clearly stated that India will fully safeguard the interests of its agricultural sector and will not approve the import of American agricultural products.
In response to this, the trade delegation of America will also visit India soon. But even before this, on August 6, Trump announced that he would impose a 50 percent duty rate on goods imported from India. However, this rate will be implemented after 21 days. But India is saying in its decent but clear response that it buys crude oil from various countries from the open market to supply energy to its 140 crore citizens. In this context, it becomes clear that crude oil is also purchased from Russia under market forces. It is obvious that India is not solely dependent on Russia for the supply of crude oil, so why does Trump want India not to buy oil from Russia? It is obvious that his intentions behind this are not clear and he is taking decisions on the lines of taking revenge from India.
India currently ranks as the fourth largest economy globally and is on track to become the third. In 1947, India's contribution to global trade was a mere one percent, but now it accounts for 18 percent of the world's GDP, surpassing America's 12 percent. India's economy is expanding at an annual rate of 6.5 percent, compared to the global average of around three percent. So, who is Trump trying to intimidate? Will India jeopardize its relationship with Russia, a steadfast ally during times of crisis, because of him? Trump should recognize that India has achieved this progress independently over the past 77 years and is now a recognized nuclear power. In the 1950s, America declined to establish steel factories with India, yet today it imports steel products from India. The correspondence between India's first Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, and the then U.S. President Eisenhower is relevant in this context. Currently, under Shri Modi's leadership, India is united in addressing Trump's unfairness.