New Delhi: Any trade deal between India and the US has to respect New Delhi’s “red lines,” and efforts are underway to reach an understanding, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday amid a downturn in bilateral ties over Washington’s policy on tariffs.
In an interactive session at an event, Jaishankar acknowledged that there were “issues” between India and the US, many of which were linked to the inability to finalize the proposed trade deal. He noted that “there are things you can negotiate and there are things you can’t.”
The external affairs minister said both sides have not yet arrived at a “landing ground” on trade discussions and that an understanding was necessary as the US is the world’s largest market. However, he emphasized that India’s red lines should be respected.
The ties between New Delhi and Washington have been under significant strain since US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods in August, imposing a hefty 50 percent duty. This included an additional 25 percent tariff on India’s purchase of Russian crude oil. India described the US action as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”
Nevertheless, a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump last month led to renewed efforts by both sides to work on the proposed trade deal.
“We have today issues with the United States. A big part of it is the fact that we have not arrived at a landing ground for our trade discussions, and the inability so far to reach there has led to a certain tariff being levied on India,” Jaishankar said during the discussion themed ‘Shaping Foreign Policy in Turbulent Times’ at the Kautilya Economic Enclave.
“In addition, there is a second tariff which we have publicly said we regard as very unfair, which has targeted us for sourcing energy from Russia, while other countries—some with even more antagonistic relations with Russia—have done the same,” he added.
Responding to questions on the current state of India-US relations, Jaishankar stated, “Whatever happens at the end of the day, there has got to be a trade understanding with the US… because it is the world’s largest market, but also because much of the world has reached those understandings.”
He stressed, “But it has to be an understanding where our bottom lines, our red lines are respected. In any agreement, there are things you can negotiate and there are things you can’t.”
Jaishankar further pointed out that India is clear about its approach. “I think we are pretty clear about that. We have to find that landing ground, and that’s been the conversation which has been going on since March,” he said.
The external affairs minister also noted that the strain in the relationship has not impacted every dimension of the engagement. “There are problems, there are issues, nobody is in denial of it. Those issues need to be negotiated and discussed and resolved, which is exactly what we are trying to do,” he explained.
At the same time, he urged caution against reading too much into the situation beyond the issues themselves. “I think I also want to say a large part of the relationship is actually continuing either as business as usual or, in fact, in some cases even doing more than it was doing before.”
India and the US recently resumed negotiations for the proposed trade deal after a brief hiatus of a few weeks. In recent months, several rounds of talks have taken place but a deal could not be sealed due to sharp divergences in critical areas, including agriculture and dairy.
Beyond trade, Jaishankar touched upon the broader geopolitical landscape, describing the world as going through an “extraordinary and intense period of change.”
“Now, the strategic consequences of this are quite obvious. We have seen a weakening, sometimes even discarding, of international regimes and rules,” he said.
On the economic front, he noted that “cost may not any longer be the definitive criteria, and factors like ownership, security, reliability, and resilience have become equally important.”
The external affairs minister also highlighted the growing “competition” for rare earths and critical minerals, calling it a “major factor” shaping current global dynamics.
“This is today actually setting into motion a paradoxical situation where, on the one hand, the very factors which I referred to encourage higher risk-taking. At the same time, because of the consequences of this, there is a serious effort also to de-risk every facet of both politics and economics,” Jaishankar said.
In an apparent reference to China, he raised concerns about shifting one-third of global manufacturing to a single country.
“We have seen issues related to concentration, narrowness, and fragility of supply chains,” he remarked.
Politically, alliances and understandings are being revisited. “In some major polities, the belief in the balance of power appears to be diminishing,” he added.
Regarding finance, Jaishankar pointed out new trends, stating, “In the last few years, we have seen a completely different level of application of sanctions, including the seizure of sovereign assets.”
Amid these challenges, he asserted that it will not be enough for India to only defend its current position; the nation must go beyond and continue its rise.
“For us, just defending what we have is simply not good enough. This has caught us at a time where we had to not only internalize and absorb these risks but find a way of going beyond and continuing with our rise,” he said.
Touching upon evolving conflicts globally, Jaishankar noted that the nature of warfare is rapidly changing. The Azerbaijan-Armenia, Ukraine-Russia, and Israel-Iran conflicts have demonstrated that contactless warfare is possible with stand-off weapons and can have decisive outcomes.
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https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/us-must-respect-new-delhis-red-lines-efforts-are-underway-to-reach-an-understanding-external-affairs-minister-jaishankar