Donald Trump's tariffs, meant as political punishment, have avoided the predicted chaos, lifting US growth, weakening rivals, and letting him claim victory in a resilient global economy, observes T T Ram Mohan.
The Global Times, a prominent state-run Chinese media outlet, published an article titled "China and India are cooperation partners, not rivals: Xi," highlighting President Xi Jinping's remarks about the bilateral meeting, saying, "as long as the two countries stick to this overarching direction, China-India relations can sustain steady and long-term growth."
The steep 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the United States on Indian goods are largely a result of President Donald Trump's 'personal pique' at not being allowed to mediate in the India-Pakistan conflict, according to a recent report by American multinational investment bank and financial services company Jefferies.
From labelling India the 'Tariff King' to slapping sweeping import duties, US President Donald Trump has steadily hardened his trade stance on India. These announcements are being seen as a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to demands made by the US in the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).
To those who ask, "Is all this really worth it? Why can't domestic demand fill the gap?", it is important to remind them that only 13 economies since the Second World War have grown at 7 per cent or more for 25 years -- like India needs to. They all had one thing in common: Strong export growth underpinned by strong global engagement, explains Sajjid Z Chinoy.
"My understanding is that the rules are weighted in favour of big cars, even though smaller cars emit fewer emissions per passenger, use less material, and consume less fuel," Bhargava said in an interview with Business Standard.
Communication channels between India and the US are open to resolve the ongoing tariff issues, and the glitch in trade ties is only temporary, given the long-term relationship between the two nations, government sources said on Wednesday. The US' 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports to America came into effect from August 27, barring a few sectors.
The protesting farmers' main demand to legalise the minimum support price (MSP) regime has divided opinion. One school of thought says it would lead to crop diversification and help India keep under check its burgeoning import bill on edible oils and pulses, while another says it would incentivise farmers to produce low-quality crops. Contrary to popular perception, India has a trade surplus in agriculture and allied activities, which stood at $18.65 billion during 2022-23 (FY23) against $15.92 billion in the previous year. However, the surplus was mainly on account of rice, wheat, sugar, spices, and buffalo meat.
'What the US appears to be doing is to force India to be "the buyer of last resort", on whom their products can be dumped, 1.4 billion people have to eat something, so why not eat American corn?' 'What is exercising the Trump lot is the fact that most of the farms are in solidly Republican Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
India, the world's third largest oil consuming and importing nation, in July bought $2.8 billion worth of crude oil from Russia, second only to China which remains the largest importer of Russian oil, a report said. Russia emerged as India's biggest supplier of crude oil, which is converted into fuels like petrol and diesel in refineries, after Russian oil was available on discount following some European nations shunning purchases from Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
'America holds about 16% of IMF voting rights, giving it crucial influence over Pakistan's desperately needed bailout loans.'
Dr Rajeshwari Panda, head of the dietetics department at Medicover Hospital, breaks down the nutritional value of some of India's most loved breakfast options.
'If nominal growth improves and earnings pick up, Indian stock markets could see a rally next year.'
'Given the lag in transmission, further softening of lending rates may happen in the coming months.'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has called for India and Russia to adopt a creative and innovative approach to address complex geopolitical challenges, emphasizing diversification and expansion of cooperation.
From the Sensex firms, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries were among the laggards. However, NTPC, Titan, Trent, ITC and Bajaj Finserv were the gainers.
Oil marketing companies (OMCs), paint manufacturers, tyre producers, and aviation stocks witnessed significant gains as Brent crude oil prices slipped below $70 per barrel. The price drop came after a double blow: The US imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, including energy imports, and OPEC+ - the group of major oil-producing nations including Russia - announced an output increase of 138,000 barrels per day, the first such hike since 2022.
'For the most populous Region in the World, it is important that I have someone I can fully trust to deliver on my Agenda and help us, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.'
'The biggest point of contention is market access for US agricultural and dairy products.'
The 25 per cent US tariffs, plus a penalty for Russian imports, could dent India's GDP growth by 30 basis points in the current fiscal, but the higher duty is unlikely to significantly affect India's domestic demand-driven economy, Barclays said on Thursday. If the 25 per cent tariff, announced by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, is implemented from August 1, the effective average US import tariff on Indian goods will rise to 20.6 per cent in trade-weighted terms, as per Barclays estimates.
The deal fell through over unresolved disagreements over contentious issues, mainly on agriculture and automotive sector tariffs.
'Marathwada is the suicide capital of Maharashtra.' 'To stop such man-made disasters, the government should immediately come up with a rightful package, not this charitable approach to compensation.'
'What the Americans want is to destabilise Iran. For destabilising Iran, you need access. 'One access is through Iraq. The other access is through Pakistan.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described sports as an essential aspect of India's journey towards becoming a developed nation, saying that the new National Sports Policy will ensure a sporting growth that covers the farthest school to the elite Olympics.
Strategic affairs experts express concern over US President Donald Trump's tariffs on India, his 'bullying tactics,' and increasing attempts to hyphenate New Delhi with Islamabad, signaling a potential shift in the bilateral relationship.
A soft, juicy mithai, totally delicious, that 'hails' from the eastern part of India, especially Odisha.
Trade, defence cooperation and regional strategy had long formed the backbone of India-US ties, but the latest rift shows how quickly those pillars can be shaken by personal grievances and political optics.
India has become Apple's main export hub to the US, which consumes over $40 billion worth of iPhones annually.
Putin further described the Ukraine conflict as a mere "pretext" by Western powers to take these broader punitive measures against countries maintaining strong economic ties with Russia.
After the war erupted between Russia and Ukraine, the US and Western nations imposed sanctions on Moscow. However, India has continued to purchase Russian oil.
Deferment or rescheduling of the meeting assumes significance as the US has announced a staggering 50 per cent duty on Indian goods.
India and Russia always stood "shoulder-to-shoulder" even in the most difficult situations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, against the backdrop of possibly the worst phase in New Delhi's ties with the US in over two decades.
India, China and other countries that have been cutting their oil imports from Iran have reached a point where it is "very very difficult" to reduce any further without seriously impacting their economies, US Secretary of State John Kerry has told lawmakers.
With India making it clear that the US doesn't have enough spare capacity for crude oil, Washington, DC, now wants India to sign fixed-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts with American producers, multiple sources in the know said.
The Indian government is studying the implications of US President Trump's announcement to impose tariffs on Indian goods and remains hopeful of concluding a bilateral trade agreement.
State governments have requested the Centre for export incentives, lifting of import duty in the case of cotton for the textile sector and GST exemptions.
Global energy giant Shell has acquired Mumbai-based Raj Petro Specialities to deepen its foothold in the world's third biggest lubricants market in the world, a top company official said. Shell, which has already invested over $5 billion in India across the energy value chain -- from LNG import terminals and fuel stations to renewable energy and technology centres -- has acquired 100 per cent equity interest in Raj Petro Specialities Pvt Ltd from Germany's Brenntag Group.
India's biggest oil and gas bid round attracted four bidders that included state-owned ONGC and OIL and private sector Vedanta Ltd, with most blocks getting just two bids, according to Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). The OALP-IX bid round, where 28 blocks or areas spread over 1.36 lakh square kilometre were offered for finding and producing oil and gas, for the first time saw Reliance Industries Ltd-bp plc combine bidding together with ONGC for one block in Gujarat offshore.
Among Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Eternal, Axis Bank, Maruti, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank and Asian Paints were the gainers. However, Adani Ports, Trent, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever and NTPC were among the laggards.
GST 2.0 may cushion consumers against US tariffs, but like the 2019 corporate tax cut, it risks being another tactical fix rather than a structural growth strategy, expects Debashis Basu.
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