India-US trade deal: Relief today shouldn't come at the cost of autonomy tomorrow

A US trade delegation reached India this week with the aim of concluding a long-anticipated trade agreement. Coming close on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi that resulted in a five-year India-Russia economic programme to diversify trade and strengthen an energy partnership, an obvious question arises: How would ties with Moscow impact India’s US engagement?At last week’s HT Leadership Summit, foreign minister S.

Jaishankar exuded confidence in a firm assertion of India’s “strategic autonomy” and “freedom of choice” in its global partnerships. Similar steadfastness will be needed to avoid the pitfalls of what the US is likely to push for.To be sure, any deal with the Donald Trump administration won’t be about long-term gains, but a short-term reprieve for India’s exports to the US of textiles, garments, shrimp and agricultural as well as food products, all of which have borne the brunt of Washington’s ‘reciprocal’ and punitive tariffs that add up to 50%.These tariffs are widely acknowledged to violate the rules of multilateral trade—rules that have been found to be ineffective in holding a member accountable for its breach.

Ironically, where 165 members of the World Trade Organization could not succeed, a legal challenge in the US by several small importers has raised the possibility of some relief. The US Court of International Trade and Court of Appeals has ruled that President Trump had no legal authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose reciprocal tariffs.The ball is now in the US Supreme Court.