Raisina Dialogue 2025 – ‘Whether we like it or not…’: What EAM S Jaishankar said about tariffs, sanctions

When asked if trade barriers or tech restrictions have a place in India’s foreign policy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said tariffs are, unfortunately, a reality and are widely used by countries.

Speaking in a session at the Raisina Dialogue 2025 on ‘Commissars and Capitalists: Politics, Business, and New World Order’, Jaishankar said, “Tariffs, exports controls…whether we would like it or not, they are a reality, Countries use them. In fact, if one looks at the last decade, I’d say we have seen a much greater weaponisation of pretty much any kind of capability or any kind of economic activity – it could be financial flows or energy supplies or technology. This is the reality of the world.”

“Since I take the world as it is, we will have to negotiate a way through that and see how best we can do for our own country. At the end of the day, for the government, you fight for your business, you fight for your employment, you fight for your comprehensive national power of which business makes a very important contribution,” he said.

Speaking at the summit, Jaishankar said the lines dividing different domains have eroded today. “Overall if you see in international relations, it’s a less restrained culture today than it was a decade ago. That’s something we all need to factor in,” he said.

This comes amid US President Donald Trump’s decision to implement reciprocal tariffs, effective from April 2. Trump has voiced his concerns about India’s high tariffs. Trump also announced plans to impose additional tariffs on goods from the European Union, escalating global trade tensions. This decision follows the earlier implementation of a 25 per cent duty on all US steel and aluminium imports, leading to strained relations with key trading partners. Trump has warned of further tariffs if the EU proceeds with its planned countermeasures next month, stating, “Whatever they charge us, we’re charging them.”

The US also announced a 25 per cent additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 per cent additional tariff on imports from China.

China and Canada retaliated with tariffs from their side too. Canada, as the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminium to the US, has also responded by imposing retaliatory tariffs on American goods, including metals and electronics, totalling $20 billion. China imposed levies on US agriculture and food exports, placed restrictions on exports and investments involving 25 US firms, suspended soybean import licences for three US companies, and stopped imports of US logs. Additionally, it initiated investigations into certain US fibre optic products.