Make in India to make India stronger: Trade policies, strategy must align

Free trade, based on the theory of competitive advantage, benefits everyone in the long run

Donald Trump’s trade tantrums to Make America Great Again have upset the global trade regime. His principal target is China. Some countries are scrambling to strike deals with the US. India’s negotiators must be guided by a long-term strategy to build depth in the country’s own industrial capabilities, which have lagged far behind China’s. The history of industrial growth in Japan and China offers useful lessons. They are in much stronger positions to negotiate trade deals with the US than India. The US needs their manufacturers, and they prop up the US economy by investing their huge trade surpluses in