ET Awards: India will be in better condition because of our pragmatic approach, says Minister Vaishnaw on Trump tariffs

Addressing the ET Awards 2024, IT and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that India is poised to navigate global challenges effectively, even as tensions rise over tariff impositions by US President Donald Trump.

Out of all the geopolitical shifts, India will come out in better conditions. The reason is the pragmatism with which we are approaching this. We are looking by seeing what is good for the country," said Ashwini Vaishnaw.

"In the first 60 years of independence we did about 20,000 kms of railway tracks and in the last 10 years we have done 45,000 kms. In the last 11 years, we have constructed 34,000km of new railway tracks. That’s more than the entire network of Germany. That’s the pace at which we are working," added Vaishnaw during the fireside chat.

After a meeting between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, the two countries agreed to resolve tariff rows and work on the first segment of a deal by the fall of 2025, aiming for bilateral trade worth $500 billion by 2030.

Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal has been on a nearly week-long trip to the United States and on Tuesday met Lutnick to pursue trade talks.

"Maybe certain products have quotas. Maybe certain products have limits...And then we do the same thing on the other side and craft an agreement that makes sense for both of us," Lutnick said.

India-US on tariffs:

US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) attacked India's tariffs regime, saying it is next to impossible to sell anything to India because of the "high tariffs."

In a nationally televised address, Trump focused on the tariffs his administration will be putting in effect soon.

However, Trump also revealed that India has agreed to slash its tariffs significantly, allegedly because "somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done."

Speaking from the White House, Trump stated, "India charges us massive tariffs. Massive. You can't even sell anything in India...They have agreed, by the way; they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done."

This development comes as the US prepares to introduce reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose high levies on American goods.

The reciprocal tariffs, set to take effect on April 2, will mark a significant shift in the US trade policy. Trump has emphasised that the US will no longer tolerate being taken advantage of by other nations, particularly those with high-tariff regimes, including India.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump targeted India's import duties in a speech to a joint session of Congress. Trump specifically targeted India's tariffs on automobile imports, saying, "India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent."

While addressing a joint session of the US Congress, Trump said that the reciprocal tax would kick in on April 2. He said that nearly every country on earth has ripped off the US for decades and vowed not to "let that happen any longer."

Trump said, " Under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and, in some cases, a rather large one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico, Canada, and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent."

The introduction of reciprocal tariffs is expected to have far-reaching implications for global trade. As the US seeks to rebalance its trade relationships, other countries will be forced to reassess their own tariff policies.