During his wild ride to the US presidency this year,
Donald Trump didn’t exactly hide his love for tariffs, aka the “most beautiful
word in the dictionary.”
In his first stint as
President (2017-2021), Trump didn’t hesitate to burn down the principles of
free trade the United States once championed and espoused.
Armed with a trifecta government in Washington, Trump
is expected to lean harder on trade wars. His close ally and fellow
protectionist Robert Lighthizer could be back in the saddle as the United
States Trade Representative, with an even bigger mandate: bring manufacturing
jobs back to America.
This would put
all countries, India included, in Trump’s crosshairs.
The sectors
likely to be directly impacted by US tariffs (in future) include
pharmaceuticals, IT services, textiles, and steel. However, this isn’t as
straightforward, with tariffs acting more as a pressure point to influence
other issues.