Best of BS Opinion: India-US tariff pact offers a cautious breather

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

India and the United States have agreed to a trade arrangement that lowers American tariffs on Indian goods, giving exporters unexpected breathing space and lifting market sentiment. After a conversation between PM Modi and President Donald Trump, Washington reduced the reciprocal tariff on India to 18 per cent and withdrew the penalty linked to Russian crude imports. The change places India slightly ahead of competitors such as Vietnam and Bangladesh. However, our first editorial cautions to take the deal with a pinch of salt because of the increasing untrustworthiness of the US. India must keep diversifying its exports and strengthening domestic capabilities to create a buffer for the future, if the US President was to go on some other tariff spree. 

Meanwhile, power subsidies and fragile governance of state power distribution companies continue to weigh heavily on state budgets, highlights our second editorial. The Sixteenth Finance Commission has proposed shifting accumulated non-asset loans to a special purpose vehicle so that balance sheets can be cleaned before any privatisation. States would be allowed to use Union capital support to repay this debt only after ownership changes. The RBI has warned that off-budget guarantees threaten fiscal stability, reviving debate on another rescue despite earlier failures. 

R Jagannathan writes that the recent India-EU pact, the Economic Survey, the Budget and now the India-US tariff deal should be treated as starting points rather than victories. He argues that lower duties will expose domestic firms to tougher competition and could increase dependence on imports if innovation does not improve. Market rallies, he notes, cannot hide weak private investment, capital outflows and the migration of wealth. The author calls for an all-of-society reform effort, clearer communication within government, lighter regulation for small firms and renewed dialogue on agriculture to match the speed of global change. 

Harsh V Pant and Vivek Mishra argue that India managed the Trump-era tariff turbulence with restraint and avoided retaliation while protecting growth. The trade agreement is expected to help textiles, auto components and gems, but its larger value is political as it resets a relationship strained by pressure over Russian oil and shifting US priorities. The writers see the deal reinforcing Indo-Pacific cooperation and the Quad, though it also complicates India’s balancing with Russia and China and will demand careful diplomacy. 

Finally, Prosenjit Datta reviews Designed to Win: The Tata Elxsi Story by S Devarajan, a book that blends corporate history with the author’s professional memoir. Datta notes how Devarajan’s decade at the company coincided with its move away from hardware and towards design services, guided by figures such as F C Kohli and Ratan Tata. The narrative reconstructs Elxsi’s American origins and the constraints of India’s early computing policy while crediting colleagues rather than presenting a solo triumph. 

Stay tuned!