Amid signs of global protectionism, Modi goes to Nordic free-trade bastion

None of the Nordic countries count India among their top 20 trade partners

Narendra Modi can expect an earful on the benefits of free trade when he visits Stockholm for a summit with Nordic peers already rattled by the sound of Donald Trump’s protectionist war-drums.

The first-ever joint meeting between the prime ministers of India, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden comes at a critical juncture for the global economy, with the European Union still trying to figure out if it will obtain a permanent exemption from US tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium.

Modi for his part, has been sending conflicting messages about his free trade credentials: Having declared at the World