“Basically, what Trump seems to be looking for is a reaction, India believes silence is the answer and whatever has to be said or done will be on the negotiation table,” they say
Apparently, India is not too worried about US President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff announcement and will neither retaliate nor answer him publicly on the issue, sources in know of the developments say.
“Basically, what Trump seems to be looking for is a reaction. India believes silence is the answer and whatever has to be said or done will be on the negotiation table,” they said on the day Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal addressed Parliament, emphasising the Narendra Modi government’s focus on national interest.
“Trump is a businessman, an extremely transactional person, and he seems to be frustrated over India’s resistance. The fact is he has said worse things to Europe and Canada,” they added, also pointing Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said
Bessent told a TV channel that the US president and his entire trade team are “frustrated” with India over stalled trade talks. “India came to the table early. They have been slow rolling things. So I think that the President, the whole trade team, has been frustrated with them,” Bessant was quoted as saying.
What Trump said
In a sharp escalation before the August 1 deadline, Trump announced a 25% tariff and penalty on Indian goods even as trade negotiations between Washington and New Delhi are ongoing. He topped it with an unspecified penalty linked to India’s ongoing trade with Russia, particularly in oil and arms.
Later he called India “dead economy” with which the US has done very little business with.
“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” he said
Offering a measured response, India said that it would evaluate the implications of the tariff hike.
What India said
Goyal told Parliament that India will protect its national interest while pursuing any trade deal with world economies. The government is studying the implications of the tariff announcements and what seemed like a response to Trump’s jibe that India is a ‘dead economy’, he said the Indian economy will soon become the third largest in the world in terms of GDP size and is currently the world’s fastest growing major economy.
“In less than a decade, India came out of ‘Fragile Five’ economies and it has now become the fastest-growing economy of the world. On the basis of the hard work of reforms, farmers, MSMEs and industrialists, we have come in the top five economies of the world from the 11th largest economy. It is expected that we will be the third largest economy in a few years. Today, global institutions and economists see India as a bright spot in the global economy,” Goyal said.
The ministry is engaged with all stakeholders including exporters and industry, for feedback/ assessment of the situation, he also said
Economists forecast a limited macroeconomic impact, however, sectors like pharmaceuticals, textiles, gems and jewellery, and automobiles may be affected. On Thursday Indian stock markets remained cool with no panic attacks, though benchmark indices closed in the red.
