- March 6, 2025
‘We Had An Open Conversation’: Jaishankar Sees Opportunities In India-US Ties Amid Trump’s Tariff Threats – News18
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Trump threatened to impose reciprocal tariffs on India, starting April 2. Jaishankar reacted to the development, stating that India has had conversation with the US for trade agreement.
EAM Dr S Jaishankar (Reuters Image)
Reacting to US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff threat against India, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that the Indian government has had a “very open conversation” with the administration in the United States about the need for a trade agreement.
Jaishankar said that what is currently happening “was expected” as this was what Trump promised to do after assuming office in January this year.
What Did Jaishankar Say On Trump’s Tariff Threat Against India?
“It is interesting … Some of it is not surprising… If you actually tracked it. Most of the time, political leaders do what they promised to do. What we saw was expected… I am a little surprised that people are surprised,” the EAM said during a Q&A session at Chatham House in London.
Responding to a query if the US policies are good for India, Jaishankar said that India has never had any issues with any American presidents in recent times, and there are areas that the US is open to, which are of deep interest to India.
“Yes, in many ways, my PM was in DC. We see the President and administration is more for multipolarity. I think about practicing. Since 1945, if we look at our own relationship, politically, we have never had any issues with American presidents in recent times. We carry no baggage. From Trump’s perspective, they want a big share of enterprise – that is QUAD. There are no free riders in QUAD, which was restarted under President Trump,’ Jaishankar said.
“He kept energy prices reasonable. He puts emphasis on tech and development on tech, and use of tech as a game changer that offers lot of possibility for us. He appears open to connectivity initiatives, and we have a deep interest in that. He has a certain view on trade. We had a very open conversation about it, and the result of that was we agreed on the need for a trade agreement. Our Trade Minister in USA doing that,” the EAM added.
Trump Threatens Reciprocal Tariffs Against India
Addressing the joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump vowed to impose reciprocal tariffs against several countries, including India and China, seeking to make “America Rich Again”.
He said that the nations will have to pay a tariff if they do not manufacture their products in the US.
He announced that the reciprocal tariffs will be live starting April 2. “Whatever they tariff us, we will tariff them,” he said. “Whatever they tax us, we will tax them,” he said.
He pointed out that, on average, the European Union, China, Brazil, and India—among other countries—impose significantly higher tariffs on the United States. Citing India as an example, Trump noted that the country levies a 100 percent tariff on automobiles, emphasising that such a system appears unfair.
