We are not out of options: Shashi Tharoor on Trump's 25% tariff
New Delhi: Senior Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said President Trump's 25% tariff on India may be a "bargaining tactic" and India has every right to resist unrealistic demands and wished the Indian negotiators luck and courage. He felt that if America is completely unreasonable with its demands, India has the strength to diversify its markets elsewhere. "If a good deal is not possible, we may have to walk away," he felt.
Talking to journalists about the Trump tariff and about the India-US trade negotiations, Tharoor said: "It is a challenging negotiation. We are negotiating with many countries. The US is not the only country we are negotiating with. We have ongoing negotiations with the EU, we already concluded a deal with the UK, and we are talking with other countries also. If we can't compete in America, we may have to diversify our markets outside of America. We are not out of options. If America is completely unreasonable with its demands, we have to move elsewhere. That is the strength of India. We are not a totally export-dependent economy like China. We have a good and strong domestic market. We must give strong support to our negotiators to find the best deal possible. If a good deal is not possible, we may have to walk away..."
Tharoor, a former union minister, said while the 25% US tariff may be a bargaining tactic, there is a possibility that during negotiation it may come down. If it doesn't, Tharoor added, then it will "certainly damage our exports because America is a very big market" with the Indian exports accounting for about 87 to 90 billion dollars. However, he added, India can't allow the US tariff to hit the interests of key Indian sectors, including agriculture and farmers. "For example, we can't risk farmers' lives to make America happy. America should understand our needs also".
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