Critical time for trade

India must have a balanced response to global pressures

According to the recent data, in March 2019 Indian trade in goods unrelated to petroleum or to gold snapped a five-year-long streak in the red to register a surplus. That was, as this newspaper has argued, a good sign that needs to be backed up with proper trade policy. A recovery in exports cannot be guaranteed on its own — a point that must be kept in mind by New Delhi’s trade negotiators as they prepare to welcome the trade ministers of 25 developing nations to a mini-ministerial summit. This is the second such summit, after one last year, and