Mumbai, August 7 (PTI) The day after doubling tariffs to 50 percent of the US, the Indian diplomat head said on Thursday that it was a “one -sided decision” without any logic or reason, adding that negotiations were still between New Delhi and Washington DC.
“This is a one -sided decision. I don’t think there is any logic or reason in the way it is done,” said Dammu Ravi, Secretary for Economic Relations at the Ministry of External Affairs.
“Maybe this is the phase we have to overcome. The negotiations are still ongoing. So we are convinced that the solution will be found over time when looking at mutually beneficial partnerships,” he said, talking about the secondary track.
Ravi said that the Ministry of Trade is leading negotiations from the Indian side and hoping to find a solution.
“We were very close to finding a solution and I think this momentum took a temporary break, but it will continue,” he said.
Ravi said that India and the US were strategic partners who have had a supplement for some time, and stressed that businesses and leaders on both sides were looking at business opportunities.
The high tariff will not have any harmful impact on the Indian industry, Ravi said, stressing that it would not be “downloaded back” by India Inc.
The Indian official said that whenever a country is facing tariffs “walls”, he is looking for new markets he can trade and added that in the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and South Asia, India is one of the regions of India.
“If the US is difficult to export, you will automatically look at other occasions,” he said.
Ravi stressed that all countries were influenced by tariff decisions of US President Donald Trump, and radiated the confidence that the solution would evolve for challenges.
“This is, in my opinion, a temporary aberration, a temporary problem that the country will face. Over time, we are convinced that the world will find a solution. Equally -minded countries will seek cooperation and economic engagement that will be mutually beneficial for all parties,” he said.
Trump’s administration stunned India late on Wednesday with a executive order that slapped another 25 % of tariffs on oil imports from Russia, which moves the total tariff to Indian goods to 50 %.
(Tagstotranslate) Mumbai
