External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that India is expecting to reach the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United States before the suspension of President Donald Trump’s tariff. On April 2, the US announced a 26 percent “mutual” tariff on Indian goods, with a 90-day break period on 90 July.
In an interview with French Daily Le Figaro, Jaishankar – which is on an official visit to Belgium and France till 14 June – said, “The threat of mutual tariff was raised on April 2, but we had already started bilateral talks for a trade agreement.”
“Prime Minister Modi was hosted by Donald Trump in February, and agreed to expand access to each other markets. We are hoping to arrive at an agreement before the tariff suspension ends on 9 July,” he said, when asked about Washington’s danger for New Delhi with 26 percent tariff, and related to Trump Administration.
“For a fourth century, under five American presidents, our relations with the US have continuously strengthened. Structural forces-economic, technical, educational, scientists, strategic, military-are running this relationship,” Jayashankar said, “from India’s perspective,” We act with our immediate selfish “I will” be with the rest of the world.
An American trade delegation is for talks on various aspects of the proposed BTA in India and will conclude the conversation on June 10 as per officials. It came after the White House last week when the US asked countries to offer its best on trade talks till Wednesday, as the July 8 deadline for mutual tariffs is just five weeks away.
Jaishankar also talked about military action between India and Pakistan, and how India watched Pakistan’s support for Pakistan. He insisted that this issue is actually about terrorism and not Pakistan. He said, “It has become an India-Pakistan issue as Pakistan supports terrorists (from Lashkar-e-Tabiba). The struggle is between India and terrorism, not with a specific country,” he said.
He said, “The most recent attack took place in Jammu and Kashmir (on 22 April), but others have taken place somewhere else like the 2008 Mumbai attacks. It is not a dispute with Pakistan on Kashmir – we only have zero tolerance for terrorism,” he said. “If terrorists attack India, we will join Pakistan wherever they are.”
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When asked about Pakistan’s support for China, Jaishankar said, “They have close ties for decades. But on an issue like terrorism, you cannot tolerate ambiguity or double standards. Finally, it is a problem that worries us all.”
On the future of India’s relations with China, who have seen a melting with the border agreement and re -starting the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in recent times, Jaishankar said, “Both our powers are growing quickly, so finding the balance is a complex process. Our relations have passed through a difficult period in 2020, because we had many exchange.”
“The important question for us is: How do we ensure peace and stability in the border areas? Without it, everything else is affected.
However, when asked to experience “internal stress” from Indian society, in relation to its 200 million Muslim minorities, Jaishankar said that he did not agree with the question and (perception) “exaggerated, sometimes untouchable, sometimes lump sum”.
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“When it comes to diversity, we are very different from Europe. Here, nations are usually based on a language, often a religion. Uniformity is your natural condition, and you struggle with diversity. But we are always in the midst of diversity. For us, for us, many languages, beliefs, ethnicity and traditions, which we are, which are the same person for our identity.
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