‘We were very close to…': What Indian diplomat said after Donald Trump's tariffs shock

Hindustan Times

3 days ago

A senior Indian diplomat on Thursday said negotiations are still going on between India and the US, a day after President Donald Trump doubled American tariffs to 50%. Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets US President Donald Trump upon his arrival in Ahmedabad. (PTI file)
The Trump administration stunned India late on Wednesday with an executive order slapping an additional 25% tariffs for importing oil from Russia, which takes the overall tariff on Indian goods to 50%.
Dammu Ravi, secretary for economic relations in the ministry of external affairs, told reporters the tariff hike was a 'unilateral decision' devoid of any logic or reason.
"This is a unilateral decision. I don't think there is any logic or reason in the way it is done," news agency PTI quoted Dammu Ravi as saying.
"Perhaps, this is a phase we have to overcome. The negotiations are still going on. So, we are confident that solutions will be found in the course of time in looking at mutually beneficial partnerships," he said.
Ravi added that the ministry of commerce is leading the negotiation from the Indian side and hoped that a solution would be found.
"We were very close to finding a solution, and I think that momentum has taken a temporary pause, but it will continue," he said.
The Indian diplomat said India and the US have been strategic partners with a complementary relationship for some time, and underlined that businesses and leaders on both sides are looking at trade opportunities.
According to Ravi, the high tariff will not have any detrimental impact on the Indian industry. He stressed that it will not "pull back" India Inc.
New markets an option?
The Indian official said whenever any country faces tariff "walls", it looks for new markets where it can trade with and added that the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and South Asia are among the regions India will target.
"If the US becomes difficult to export to, you will automatically look at other opportunities," he said.
Underlining that all countries are impacted by the tariff decisions being taken by the US President, Ravi exuded confidence that solutions will evolve for the challenges.
"This is, in my view, a temporary aberration, a temporary problem that the country will face. In the course of time, we are confident that the world will find solutions to it. Like-minded countries will look for cooperation and economic engagement that will be mutually beneficial for all sides," he said.