Global trade getting weaponised through tariffs: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said global trade is increasingly being "weaponised" through tariffs and other measures. She emphasized India must negotiate carefully, leveraging its economic strength to safeguard domestic industries amid rising international protectionism

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said global trade is increasingly “getting weaponised” through tariffs and other measures, and India will have to negotiate its way carefully. She said that the overall strength of the economy will give the country an added advantage.

“Trade is getting weaponised through tariff, through many other measures and India will have to negotiate its way carefully in this, and not just take care of tariff but I think overall our economy strength is what is going to give us that additional advantage,” Sitharaman said at Times Network’s India Economic Conclave 2025. She said that globally it is now “very clear” that trade is not free and fair.

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“India can be lectured saying you (India) are very inward-looking, you are a tariff king and so on. But tariff has been weaponized,” she said adding India’s intention was never to weaponise tariffs.

India, she said, only safeguarded its domestic industries against flooding which happens from a “predator”.

But the weaponisation of trade today is without criticism, the minister said, adding that some nations state that tariffs are not good and no one should take these measures but “suddenly we have newer people coming up saying we’ll come up with tariff barriers and there’s no questioning. So that seems to be the new normal”.

These remarks are important as global trade has been disruptive due to the high tariffs imposed by the US. Mexico too has recently announced to impose high tariffs in countries with which they do not have free trade agreements.