A wave of reports in the Indian media suggests that New Delhi is steadily relinquishing its tariff sovereignty under pressure from Washington. The Narendra Modi government, seemingly bowing to the demands of an increasingly imperialist US regime, is rolling out the red carpet for American goods and services. According to recent reports, India plans to slash tariffs on more than half of US imports – worth $23 billion – while also proposing to scrap the equalisation levy of $ 6 billion on global digital giants like Google and Meta.
Even before so-called ’Liberation Day’ on April 2 – a date touted by former President Donald Trump as America’s economic emancipation from “decades of exploitation” – New Delhi appears to be in a frenzied rush to open its markets on an unprecedented scale. “April 2nd is Liberation Day in America,” Trump has declared. “For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the world, both friend and foe. Now it is finally time for the Good Ol’ USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!”
These are not just the ravings of a right-wing populist leader but the calculated rhetoric of an administration bent on reshaping global trade and finance in its favour. Several reports have warned that the US may push for a ’Mar-a-Lago Accord (MALA)’, restructuring international financial system through mechanisms like Bitcoin-backed virtual money to offset its deficits – a move that could destabilise developing economies.
Also read: Narendra Modi’s MIGA Dream Takes a Hit Amid Trump’s Tariff Claims
A return to 19th-century imperialism?
Trump’s recent tirades evoke the darkest chapters of colonialism, where powerful nations subjugated Asia, Africa, and Latin America through economic and military force. From the opium wars to the scramble for Africa, history shows that empires will stop at nothing to maintain dominance. Now, Washington’s ’reciprocal tariffs’ threaten to impose the same coercive trade and economic agenda on India – forcing New Delhi to align its tariffs with US rates, effectively eroding its policy space.
The critical question is: What does this mean for India?
- Will April 2 mark the day India surrenders its 1.4 billion people to US economic hegemony?
- Will it be the day Modi’s government submits to a trade and finance architecture built on “grift” – as Adam Tooze describes it – rather than fairness?
- Will it cripple Atmanirbhar Bharat, sacrificing nascent industries like semiconductors and pharmaceuticals at the altar of American demands?
- And will India abandon its role as the “voice of the Global South,” leaving smaller nations without a champion in an increasingly predatory global order?
The illusion of negotiation
So far, India stands alone in its muted response to Trump’s 25% steel and aluminum tariffs, even as the European Union, China, Canada, and Mexico prepare retaliatory measures. The Modi government may hope that compliance will yield concessions in the proposed $500 billion bilateral trade deal, but history shows that the US never concedes without extracting maximum gains.
Worse, the Trump administration’s tariff threats may only be the prelude to a more radical overhaul – weakening the dollar, manipulating the Federal Reserve, and even experimenting with virtual currencies – all to cement US financial supremacy.
A dangerous precedent
By acquiescing to unilateral US demands, India risks more than just economic harm; it undermines its credibility among developing nations. If even a nation of India’s stature bends the knee, what hope remains for smaller economies facing similar coercion?
Siraj-ud-Daula once resisted the East India Company’s exploitative trade demands. Today, as Washington dictates terms, will India stand firm – or will it surrender its tariff sovereignty without a fight?
The answers will soon be clear. But one thing is certain: silence is not a strategy – it is surrender.
Ravi Kanth Devarakonda is a financial journalist based in Switzerland.
