Trade being weaponised is new normal, says FM

Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said global trade is increasingly getting weaponised through tariffs and other measures. India will have to negotiate its way carefully, she added while noting that the overall strength of the economy will give the country an added advantage.

“India can be lectured saying you (India) are very inward-looking, you are a tariff king and so on. But tariff has been weaponised,” the FM said. Her remarks gains significance as global trade has been disruptive due to the high tariffs imposed by the US. Mexico too recently announced high tariffs on countries with which they do not have free trade agreements.

India, she said, only safeguarded its domestic industries against flooding which happens from a “predator”. But the weaponisation of trade today is without criticism, the minister said, adding that some nations state that tariffs are not good and no one should take these measures but “suddenly we have newer people coming up saying we’ll come up with tariff barriers and there’s no questioning. So that seems to be the new normal”.