‘Provides one other feather to Trump’s extractive cap’: Brahma Chellaney weighs in on India US interim commerce settlement – BusinessToday – Company Technique & Outlook

Geostrategist Brahma Chellaney on Saturday stated that the just lately introduced framework for the India-US interim pact simply added “one other feather to [US President Donald] Trump’s extractive cap”. He stated that after Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia, Trump’s technique to weaponise commerce has coerced India into pledging $500 billion in imports of American merchandise over the following 5 years. 

“The commerce take care of India provides one other feather to Trump’s extractive cap. His weaponised commerce technique — after extracting US-investment commitments of $550 billion from Japan, $350 billion from South Korea and $70 billion from Malaysia — has now coerced India into pledging $500 billion in imports of American merchandise over the following 5 years, because the newly launched joint assertion makes clear,” Chellaney wrote in a put up on X. 

He added that, not like different East and Southeast Asian economies, India is an import-dependent economic system whose progress rests primarily on home consumption.

However what impression will this have on India’s general merchandise commerce deficit?

“With whole U.S.-India bilateral items commerce at simply $132.13 billion in 2025, forcing India to import roughly $100 billion a 12 months from america wouldn’t merely skew the bilateral relationship — it might, and not using a dramatic soar in Indian exports, almost double India’s general merchandise commerce deficit to round $200 billion,” he defined. 

He added that with the India-US interim commerce pact, Trump has as soon as once more proven that his commerce technique is “extra coercive and extractive than even China’s Belt and Street Initiative.” 

In the direction of the top of his put up, Chellaney claimed that Trump is utilizing American market entry not as leverage however as a blunt instrument of financial coercion by focusing on weaker Asian nations. 

Highlights of the India-US interim commerce settlement

The interim commerce settlement framework, signed on Saturday, is designed to minimize obstacles and invigorate the India-US commerce and financial ties.

The US will cut back present tariffs on Indian imports from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, together with the removing of the punitive 25 per cent further obligation imposed attributable to India’s oil commerce with Russia. The US has additionally exempted tariffs on Indian plane as a part of the interim commerce pact. 

A market of $30 trillion has been opened for India’s exports, offering an enormous increase to the pharma, generics, and textiles sectors, amongst others. India, however, will decrease or remove duties on all US industrial items and an enormous array of non-sensitive agricultural items, together with tree nuts, soybean oil, and wine and spirits.