New foreign policy for a news world
The Narendra Modi government's policy of multi-alignment brought good results for the country's foreign policy for most of Modi's time as prime minister. But with Donald Trump acting like a bull in the china shop of world order, multi-alignment, at its best, has exhausted all possibilities. It was inventive while it lasted.
India needs a new foreign policy. Exposed to the scorching heat of Trump's assaults on the existing order, the old policy is now like wine that tastes of wet cardboard. It emits an aroma similar to spoilt vinegar. The existing policy is no longer sustainable.
Repackaging it in shimmering new Bohemian crystal will not make the old wine any better. It will not be potable, although the new bottle may draw praise. The old policy must be discarded. Or else, South Block will be stranded by the receding tide of history.
In six months, Trump has decisively pulled the world away from multilateralism or even from plurilateral ways of advancing foreign policy. This may change if Trump does not complete his term for any reason, or if the next US president is either a Republican in the conventional mould or a Democrat. But India cannot wait for that. The challenge of adapting the country's foreign policy to the new global realities is urgent. Every single day's delay entails opportunity costs for 1.4 billion Indians whose aspirations, no longer circumscribed by the nation's borders, are at stake.
India's biggest contribution at the recent BRICS summit in the enchanting city of Rio de Janeiro was to propose a new expansion of that acronym. As India prepares to succeed Brazil as BRICS chair, Modi told his co-leaders at the summit: 'Our goal will be to redefine BRICS as Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability.' That means BRICS will no longer be Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa. But in the Trump era, it falls short of hard bargains and transactional foreign policy. Modi is obsessed with catchy acronyms—his administration is peppered with them.
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Mint
22 minutes ago
- Mint
How Trump got the upper hand over the EU on tariffs
Soon after he sat down to negotiate Sunday with European officials on a potential tariff agreement at his Scotland golf club, President Trump said he wanted assurances that Europe would follow through on its pledges to increase investment in the U.S. Trump questioned how the U.S. could be sure European companies wouldn't shrug off their plans, which came with a 15% levy on EU imports into the U.S. rather than the 30% Trump had threatened, according to people familiar with the matter. After EU leaders assured him that the investment plans they were talking about were real, Trump responded: 'prove it," according to one of the people. EU officials rattled off the names of European companies they said were already prepared to invest. With a trade deal in place, planned investments of almost $200 billion would grow by even more, they told Trump. 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Just before Trump and von der Leyen met Sunday to iron out the agreement, Trump aides called European officials to solidify that part of the talks would focus on the EU giving U.S. companies better access to the bloc's markets, according to a person familiar with the matter. The EU's decision to accept Trump's 15% level for tariffs marked a contrast to its initial, more adversarial approach. After Trump imposed in March 25% levies for steel and aluminum, the bloc started preparing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, including American products such as peanut butter and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Some of the products were chosen to try to maximize political pain for Trump, an EU official said when the bloc's list was announced that month. After the U.K. in May got a deal that pegged tariffs to 10%, Trump's global baseline for duties, some European officials were dismissive. 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India Today
22 minutes ago
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We'll wipe it out faster: Trump again warns Iran over nuclear enrichment
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Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
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