External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Wednesday addressed the ongoing debate over the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, emphasizing India’s clear strategy of engaging with the United States on a bilateral trade agreement. Speaking at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit, Jaishankar stated that India aims to conclude a trade deal with the US by the fall of this year.
When asked about the potential impact of the tariffs, Jaishankar replied, “I don’t think it is possible to speak about the impact because we don’t know.” He emphasized that India’s strategy has been focused on constructive engagement with the Trump administration, with the goal of reaching a bilateral trade agreement.
“Our strategy is pretty clear; we decided that we will engage with the Trump administration earlier on these set of issues, and we were very open with them, constructive with them as they were with us. What we agreed to do was try to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement by the fall of this year,” Jaishankar explained.
The EAM further noted that, to his knowledge, India is the only country that has reached such an understanding with the US since President Trump resumed office for his second term. “To the best of my knowledge, and I could be corrected here, I think we are the only country after President Trump has resumed the presidency the second time, which has actually reached such an understanding in principle,” Jaishankar added.
While acknowledging the impact of tariffs on countries worldwide, Jaishankar pointed out that each nation is adopting its own strategy to deal with the US. “In our case, our strategy has a goal, which is to see whether it is possible to actually deal with this situation by concluding a bilateral trade agreement,” he said. He also added that India had been pursuing a trade deal with the US even during Trump’s first term.
Jaishankar noted that the current tariff situation had created an opportunity for deeper engagement, but emphasized that negotiating a trade deal with the US was not a negative development for India. “So from the Indian perspective, working out a bilateral deal with the United States is not a negative or unwanted situation, on the contrary, it is something which has long been our objective,” he stated.
The EAM highlighted that since Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US, bilateral trade negotiations have gained momentum, with multiple rounds of engagement. “We’ve had more discussions with the Americans in the last six weeks than I suspect we’ve had with the Europeans in the last two years,” Jaishankar remarked.
This statement comes amid US President Donald Trump’s remarks on Tuesday, where he mocked countries affected by US tariffs for their eagerness to negotiate with him. Speaking at the National Republican Congressional Committee, Trump claimed that countries were calling him up, offering to do “anything” to secure a deal. He emphasized that his negotiation skills were superior to those of Congress, pointing to China’s 104% tariffs as a testament to his negotiating power.
(With ANI inputs)
