India's Trade Negotiations with US: Jaishankar Emphasizes Respect for "Red Lines" Amid Tariff Tensions

S Jaishankar stated India maintains a clear position on its approach.

New Delhi:

Any trade agreement between India and the US must respect New Delhi's "red lines" and efforts continue to find a "landing ground," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday amid strained relations between the two countries over Washington's tariff policies.

During an interactive session at an event, Jaishankar acknowledged existing issues between India and the US, many stemming from the inability to finalize the proposed trade deal.

The external affairs minister emphasized that an understanding on trade with the US is necessary as it represents the world's largest market, while noting that India's red lines must be respected.

"We currently have issues with the United States. A significant part stems from our failure to reach a landing ground for our trade discussions, and this inability has resulted in certain tariffs being imposed on India," he said.

Jaishankar was speaking at a discussion titled 'Shaping Foreign Policy in Turbulent Times' at the Kautilya Economic Enclave.

"Additionally, there's a second tariff that we've publicly declared as very unfair, which singles us out for sourcing energy from Russia when other countries have done the same, including nations that currently maintain far more antagonistic relationships with Russia than we do," he stated.

Relations between New Delhi and Washington have been under significant strain after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 percent, including an additional 25 percent duty due to India's purchase of Russian crude oil.

India described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".

"Whatever happens ultimately, there must be a trade understanding with the US...not only because it's the world's largest market but also because much of the world has reached such understandings," Jaishankar said.

"But it must be an understanding where our bottom lines, our red lines, are respected. In any agreement, certain things are negotiable while others are not," he emphasized.

Jaishankar affirmed that India maintains clarity in its approach.

"I believe we are quite clear about that. We need to find that landing ground, and that's been the ongoing conversation since March," he stated.

India and the US have recently resumed negotiations for the proposed trade deal following a brief pause of several weeks.

The external affairs minister also indicated that the strain in relations hasn't affected every dimension of their engagement.

"There are problems and issues, nobody denies that. These issues need to be negotiated, discussed, and resolved, which is precisely what we're attempting to do," he said.

He added, "I would hesitate to read much more into it beyond the issues themselves. I also want to emphasize that a large portion of the relationship actually continues either as business as usual or, in some cases, is even more active than before."