India Pushes Strategic Self-Reliance as US Trade Tensions Deepen, Jaishankar Says ‘Politics Trumps Economics’

New Delhi: Amid rising tariff friction with the United States, India is strengthening its push for diversified supply chains and domestic capability building, signalling a more assertive stance on long-term economic resilience.

Speaking at IIM Calcutta after receiving an honorary doctorate, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the current global landscape has shifted significantly from earlier trade norms, where geopolitical competition increasingly influences economic policy.

“Politics now trumps economics”, he remarked, noting that policy maneuvers worldwide are no longer driven by pure market logic.

His remarks come at a time when trade relations between India and the United States are under strain, tariff increases by the United States, reportedly reaching up to 50 per cent on selected Indian products have raised concerns in New Delhi and prompted renewed debate on trade dependencies. Jaishankar framed the shift not as an isolated bilateral dispute, but as part of a wider global reset.

“The United States, once viewed as the bedrock of the global economic order, has set radically new terms of engagement”, he said, calling the shift a “re-ordering of the global economic framework”.

At the same time, both New Delhi and Washington remain engaged in talks on tariff issues as well as broader trade and market access, with an ambitious shared target to raise bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 - up from around USD 191 billion now.

Jaishankar also pointed to the conduct of other global powers, noting that China “has long played by its own rules” and still operates that way, which he said is adding to a more divided international environment.

As the country plans for a developed India by 2047, foreign policy will aim to expand India’s global footprint. "When it comes to trade, we will naturally be guided by our people-centric vision", he said, adding that India’s diplomacy is now "active rather than passive".

He also highlighted India’s long-term economic priorities, including semiconductor manufacturing, green energy transition, biotech expansion, and modernised infrastructure. India, he said, is accelerating efforts toward self-reliance - strengthening its manufacturing base and reducing dependence on any single external supplier, he concluded.

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