Economic think tank GTRI stated on saturday that india should end all talks with the US and get ready to interact with the trump administration in the same manner as nations like china and Canada. According to ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), the united states is putting a lot of pressure on india to agree to trade demands that only serve American interests.
He claimed that the majority of the criticism of india by US President donald trump and his associates has been based on false information.
"Trump is using false information to openly disparage India. In these situations, a balanced result is impossible. According to Srivastava, india ought to end all talks and get ready to handle them the way other nations are.
China and canada have declared retaliatory actions in response to US tariffs.
Trump asserted on friday that after his administration "exposed" what he described as unfair trade practices, india had consented to lower tariffs on American imports.
"This is blatantly wrong and meant to put pressure on India. india must respond with facts because its silence is perplexing. "Every day, trump and his officials denigrate india in front of the entire world," he continued.
India's agricultural market must be opened, according to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who emphasized that it cannot be "off the table" during negotiations with its biggest trade partner. In order to advance bilateral commerce, he has advocated for a macro, vast, and grand trade agreement with india rather than a "product-by-product" structure.
A GTRI analysis claims that a comprehensive trade agreement would allow the US to make demands on government procurement, agriculture subsidies, patent rules, unrestricted data flows, and tariff reductions—all of which india has continuously resisted.
"Second, Trump's history of disregarding negotiated trade agreements is evident from his decision to scrap the US-Mexico-Canada FTA, which he himself finalized in 2019, and his imposition of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports now," said the report.
It recommended that india take into account a macro-level reciprocal tariff system that covers more than 90% of industrial goods using a "Zero-for-Zero" strategy, in which india removes tariffs exclusively in exchange for the US doing the same.
It added that since the automobile industry accounts for one-third of manufacturing GDP, india must avoid making the same error. "However, agriculture, passenger cars, and other sensitive sectors must remain excluded," it stated.
For instance, it claimed that when australia lowered automobile import taxes from 45% to 5% in the late 1980s, the country's domestic auto sector fell apart.
India exported less than $13 million worth of passenger cars to the US, and it said that india would not be affected if the US raised duties on indian automobiles.
Srivastava, a former employee of the Department of Commerce, vehemently opposed this demand upon the opening of the agriculture sector, arguing that it is a livelihood issue rather than merely a trade issue because India's agriculture sector employs over 700 million people, while the US employs less than 7 million.
He added that tariffs on the majority of US agricultural exports to india are already low and warned that "opening even a few agricultural products to US imports could set a dangerous precedent, leading to increased pressure for further concessions."
Almonds, for example, have an import duty of Rs 35 per kg, which is only 5% at the current import price of Rs 700/kg. Ethyl alcohol is only subject to a 5% tariff, while pistachios are subject to a 10% one.
Since india exports only $5 billion worth of agricultural, dairy, and marine products to the US overall, retaliatory US tariffs would not have a major negative impact on India. He warned that additional products would be put on the US list in the future if india gave down today.
In response to US accusations that india is a tariff king, he stated that although New delhi levies high tariffs on certain goods, like 150% on wines and spirits and 100% on automobiles, the US imposes 35% on tobacco.
"The weighted tariff rates for US goods entering india are only 4.9% higher than what the US applies to indian products in terms of overall trade," he continued.
He added that US authorities regularly falsify trade statistics.
According to India's official data, the US-India trade gap is less than $45 billion, but trump asserted that it is $100 billion.
In a similar vein, the white house fact sheet falsely claimed that Harley-Davidson motorbikes are subject to a 100% tax in india, even though on february 1 the actual duty was lowered from 50% to 30%. It hurts that the indian government and no trade group have reacted to the continuous provocations from the united states by spreading false information," Srivastava stated.
He continued by saying that india needs to focus on long-term economic resilience rather than temporary appeasement at a time when many other countries are opposing Trump's trade policies.
Trade data indicates that appropriately calculated reciprocal duties won't harm the majority of industry sectors, therefore india should only react if necessary if the US rejects the "Zero-for-Zero" offer and applies reciprocal tariffs, he said.
He claimed that the majority of the criticism of india by US President donald trump and his associates has been based on false information.
"Trump is using false information to openly disparage India. In these situations, a balanced result is impossible. According to Srivastava, india ought to end all talks and get ready to handle them the way other nations are.
China and canada have declared retaliatory actions in response to US tariffs.
Trump asserted on friday that after his administration "exposed" what he described as unfair trade practices, india had consented to lower tariffs on American imports.
"This is blatantly wrong and meant to put pressure on India. india must respond with facts because its silence is perplexing. "Every day, trump and his officials denigrate india in front of the entire world," he continued.
India's agricultural market must be opened, according to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who emphasized that it cannot be "off the table" during negotiations with its biggest trade partner. In order to advance bilateral commerce, he has advocated for a macro, vast, and grand trade agreement with india rather than a "product-by-product" structure.
A GTRI analysis claims that a comprehensive trade agreement would allow the US to make demands on government procurement, agriculture subsidies, patent rules, unrestricted data flows, and tariff reductions—all of which india has continuously resisted.
"Second, Trump's history of disregarding negotiated trade agreements is evident from his decision to scrap the US-Mexico-Canada FTA, which he himself finalized in 2019, and his imposition of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports now," said the report.
It recommended that india take into account a macro-level reciprocal tariff system that covers more than 90% of industrial goods using a "Zero-for-Zero" strategy, in which india removes tariffs exclusively in exchange for the US doing the same.
It added that since the automobile industry accounts for one-third of manufacturing GDP, india must avoid making the same error. "However, agriculture, passenger cars, and other sensitive sectors must remain excluded," it stated.
For instance, it claimed that when australia lowered automobile import taxes from 45% to 5% in the late 1980s, the country's domestic auto sector fell apart.
India exported less than $13 million worth of passenger cars to the US, and it said that india would not be affected if the US raised duties on indian automobiles.
Srivastava, a former employee of the Department of Commerce, vehemently opposed this demand upon the opening of the agriculture sector, arguing that it is a livelihood issue rather than merely a trade issue because India's agriculture sector employs over 700 million people, while the US employs less than 7 million.
He added that tariffs on the majority of US agricultural exports to india are already low and warned that "opening even a few agricultural products to US imports could set a dangerous precedent, leading to increased pressure for further concessions."
Almonds, for example, have an import duty of Rs 35 per kg, which is only 5% at the current import price of Rs 700/kg. Ethyl alcohol is only subject to a 5% tariff, while pistachios are subject to a 10% one.
Since india exports only $5 billion worth of agricultural, dairy, and marine products to the US overall, retaliatory US tariffs would not have a major negative impact on India. He warned that additional products would be put on the US list in the future if india gave down today.
In response to US accusations that india is a tariff king, he stated that although New delhi levies high tariffs on certain goods, like 150% on wines and spirits and 100% on automobiles, the US imposes 35% on tobacco.
"The weighted tariff rates for US goods entering india are only 4.9% higher than what the US applies to indian products in terms of overall trade," he continued.
He added that US authorities regularly falsify trade statistics.
According to India's official data, the US-India trade gap is less than $45 billion, but trump asserted that it is $100 billion.
In a similar vein, the white house fact sheet falsely claimed that Harley-Davidson motorbikes are subject to a 100% tax in india, even though on february 1 the actual duty was lowered from 50% to 30%. It hurts that the indian government and no trade group have reacted to the continuous provocations from the united states by spreading false information," Srivastava stated.
He continued by saying that india needs to focus on long-term economic resilience rather than temporary appeasement at a time when many other countries are opposing Trump's trade policies.
Trade data indicates that appropriately calculated reciprocal duties won't harm the majority of industry sectors, therefore india should only react if necessary if the US rejects the "Zero-for-Zero" offer and applies reciprocal tariffs, he said.
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