The second Donald Trump presidency in the US requires an alteration in the terms of engagement but India does not see it as a challenge, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said.
“When I look around the world, there are countries that are looking at Trump 2.0 as a political challenge. We are not. And I think that separates us from a very large number of countries. We are in a much more advantageous position to translate 2.0 into a deeper relationship,” Jaishankar stated without naming any country, including China. The Minister was speaking at an event hosted by industry body ASSOCHAM on Thursday.
But like everyone, India too would have its issues and will deal with them, he pointed out.
The Minister said that while Trump 1.0 is some basis of trying to analyse what is to happen, but some things had changed as four years had passed and one needed to wait and see.
At the same time, based on the things Trump said earlier, the world had a general idea of possible things that can happen in Trump 2.0. “The possible things (under Trump 2.0) are a stronger commitment in America to manufacturing….a belief in America that other partners have not been fair to America. So you have to change the terms of engagement or transactions,” he said.
More business
The world is probably looking at a more business like America that is looking at more immediate outcomes and results, he said.
Outlining ways in which one could deal with such an America, the Minister said that one way was by messaging that the interests of both countries are aligned and anything that we do will benefit both.
The country also needs to look at where the interests of America, its largest trade partner and export destination, are and where will it need India, he said. Such areas could be advanced technology sectors like semiconductors that are important for mutual cooperation, he added.
Trump called India a “big abuser” of trade relations between the two countries during his election campaign in Michigan in September this year. The following month, at his campaign rally in Detroit, he said that India was the biggest tariff charger. He warned of reciprocal tariffs of 10 per cent on all countries and 60 per cent on China.