India Geared Up For 'High Degree' Of Urgency In Trade Deals, Says Jaishankar Amid Trump's Tariffs

Last Updated:April 11, 2025, 16:12 IST

Jaishankar said the US has fundamentally changed its approach to engage with the world, adding that the US-China trade war will have consequences and India needs to safeguard its own interests.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressing the Carnegie Global Technology Summit 2025. (S Jaishankar/X)

After US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs sent shockwaves across global markets and sparked a trade war with China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India is geared up for a high degree of urgency in reaching trade negotiations with several countries.

Speaking at the Carnegie Global Tech Summit 2025, Jaishankar said India is keen to sign the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement with the US as soon as possible, while doing the same with the European Union as well as the United Kingdom.

“Within a month of change in the administration, we have conceptually an agreement that we will do a bilateral trade agreement; that we will find a fix that will work for both of us because we have our concerns too. And it’s not an open-ended process," the minister said.

“If you look at the EU, often people say we’ve been negotiating for 23 years which is not entirely true because we had big blocks of time when nobody was even talking to somebody else. But they have tended to be very protracted processes," he added. “This time around, we are certainly geared up for a very high degree of urgency. I mean, we see a window here. Our trade teams are really charged up."

His remarks came after Trump announced a 90-day pause to his sweeping tariffs that alarmed economies and sparked fears of a global recession. However, Trump increased tariffs on Chinese products to a massive 145%, while Beijing hit back with retaliatory tariffs of 125% on imports of US goods.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United States in February to meet Donald Trump, where they agreed to finalise the first part of a bilateral trade agreement by this year. An American delegation led by Assistant Trade Representative Brendan Lynch visited New Delhi in March for talks on the deal.

Jaishankar on US-China Trade War

Jaishankar said the US has fundamentally changed its approach to engage with the world, which has consequences across every domain, particularly the tech sector, as the US is the largest driver of global tech advancements. He also spoke about a connection between Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) campaign and the tech domain.

Jaishankar also highlighted China’s advancements. “Changes in the United States, which all of you are as familiar if not more than me, I think is one big shift in the last year. But there’s the other shift, and that’s an evolution, you can say… That is the advancement of China."

“The trade story is also the tech story. It had its dramatic moments, Deep Seek was one of them. I would argue that the changes impelled by China are as consequential as the shifts in the American position. In fact, one is to some extent influenced by the other," he added.

He also said countries like Japan and South Korea have tried to make a geopolitical comeback through technology, while India was making progress in the field of digital public infrastructure and was prioritising semiconductors.

‘Nothing Is Purely Business Anymore’

The External Affairs Minister further warned of a period of sharp competition, adding that the impact of US-China relations on India was akin to a “Goldilocks problem", with no situation working in New Delhi’s favour.

Speaking on the tit-for-tat moves, Jaishankar said, “I think what is our definition of what is sensitive has expanded. Nothing is only trade anymore. No investments are as purely, you know, nothing is purely business anymore. Everything is also personal."

He also said Europe had a good fortune of enjoying strategic comfort for several decades, but now its feathers are being ruffled with the Ukraine war and Trump’s tariffs, and it is being compelled by global developments to conceptualise its own interest.

(with inputs from agencies)

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