Best of BS Opinion: Dodging Trump tariffs, drugs, and digital traps

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

There’s something oddly primal about watching a bullfighter face off with a bull. You can’t help but flinch at each charge, each sidestep, each deceptive flick of the red cape. But what strikes the most is the expression on the fighter’s face, tense yet deliberate, fully aware that every move could be his last. That’s what the world has started to feel like. Everywhere you look, from geopolitics to pharma to digital overload, it's as if we’re all caught in our own bullfights — holding our ground, dodging blows, and trying to stay upright in the ring. Let’s dive in. 

India finds itself cornered yet again, this time by a 50 per cent tariff wall, built higher by Donald Trump’s latest move targeting Russian oil imports. These aren’t just economic levers; they are political provocations masked as trade policy, argues our first editorial. The US is swinging hard, and India is parrying with diplomacy and diversification, but the ring is hostile and the stakes, extremely punishing. 

But some bulls are being prepared in advance. Indian drugmakers, sensing the expiry of semaglutide’s patent, are sharpening their swords. Ozempic and Wegovy, the weight-loss wonders, could soon have affordable Indian cousins. But this isn’t an easy fight either, notes our second editorial. Legal traps, quality risks, and the ever-looming shadow of misuse make this opportunity as dangerous as it is lucrative.  

From a different corner of the ring, T T Ram Mohan argues that Trump’s style of unpredictable punches might be working. Countries once thought unshakable are signing lopsided deals. Markets haven’t collapsed, instead, they’ve adapted. Like a bullfighter rewriting the rules mid-duel, Trump seems to be controlling the rhythm. 

Meanwhile, Ajay Kumar writes about the invisible battles that no fighter can see, the wars guided not by sight but by signal. As GPS becomes vulnerable, India is betting big on magnetic navigation systems. It’s a cerebral duel, far from the dusty arena but no less intense, especially when the bull wears camouflage. 

And finally, in a world where every ping, post, and push notification is a goring of its own kind, Sneha Pathak reviews Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart by Nicholas Carr, a book that warns us against our compulsive connectivity. In Carr’s world, the bull isn’t charging us; we’re rushing to meet it, led by the promise of endless engagement. 

Stay tuned!