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Jaishankar note that Trump’s actions came in response to his beliefs, convictions and strong nationalism in line with his ‘nationalist goals’.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar (File image/Reuters)
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar recently talked about the ongoing tariff debate between India and the United States, asserting that both the countries are “traditional allies” and India’s bond with the US is getting tighter than ever before. Jaishankar further highlighted the “realistic” nature of President Donald Trump, stating, “just because someone’s a realist doesn’t mean they don’t have beliefs, convictions and feelings”.
Terming both Trump and PM Modi like-minded nationalists, Jaishankar touched upon the ongoing global tariff war in which the US President dragged India and threatened to hit the country with ‘reciprocal tariffs’, calling it the “biggest abuser of tariffs”.
“We have our issues,” said Jaishankar while talking to Financial Times. “I can see he [Trump] has his concerns,” the Foreign Affairs Minister added.
Jaishankar further levelled Trump’s tariff threats to India ‘just’ in response to his beliefs, convictions and feelings. He noted that the US President’s feelings are a response of his ‘strong nationalism’ and ‘nationalist goals’.
“Because you’re a realist, doesn’t mean you don’t have beliefs and convictions and feelings. They coexist. I do think he’s a very strong nationalist and in pursuit of his nationalist goals he’s very realist about many parts of the world,” the Foreign Minister said.
Trump Threatens India With Reciprocal Tariffs
Last week, US President Donald Trump claimed India had agreed to lower its import duties against the US because he had “exposed” the country, saying “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,” the US President said.
However, India rejected his claims and said that New Delhi is still negotiating with the United States and has not made any commitments so far.
Notably, Trump had announced reciprocal tariffs on its partners, including New Delhi. Despite, Trump maintaining warm relations with PM Modi, he has often been critical of India’s high tariffs, describing the country as a “tariff king” and a “tariff abuser”.
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