India’s finance minister mentioned the nation was solely defending its home business from flooding attributable to “predators”. File |Picture Credit score: Debasish Bhaduri
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) that world commerce is changing into more and more “weaponized” via tariffs and different measures, and India must fastidiously negotiate its course. He mentioned the general power of the financial system will give the nation an added benefit.
“Commerce has been weaponized via tariffs and lots of different measures and India wants to barter fastidiously on this regard. I feel our general financial power will give us a further benefit, not simply in coping with tariffs,” Sitharaman mentioned. instances communityHe mentioned it was “very clear” globally that commerce was not free and honest.
“India will be lectured that you just (India) are very inward-looking, you’re a tariff king. However tariffs have been weaponized,” he mentioned, including that India’s intention was by no means to weaponize tariffs.
She mentioned India was merely defending its home business from flooding from “predators”.
However right now’s weaponization of commerce is past criticism, he mentioned, including that whereas some nations have mentioned tariffs are dangerous and nobody ought to take such measures, “all of a sudden new individuals are saying they’ll put up tariff obstacles and there is not any query. So it looks like the brand new regular.”
These remarks are vital as excessive tariffs imposed by the USA have disrupted world commerce. Mexico additionally lately introduced that it could impose excessive tariffs on nations with which it doesn’t have free commerce agreements (FTAs).
