A United Front

On a cloudy April afternoon, US President Donald Trump strutted into the White House Rose Garden to announce that he was enacting a series of major tariffs. “My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day,” Trump said. “Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than fifty years. But it is not going to happen anymore.”

The fact that Trump was enacting tariffs was hardly a surprise. Every global-economic analyst knew that the president, who once said tariff was “the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” was planning to put up barriers to foreign trade. The magnitude of his restrictions nonetheless came as a shock. Rather than targeting a small set of states or a small group of imports, Trump established a baseline, ten-percent tariff on all but a few products. He then placed additional levies on countries that exported more to the United States than they imported from it—which is to say, almost all of them. He did not discriminate between Washington’s friends and rivals. China was hit with enormous tariffs, yes. But so was Japan. Venezuela faced new levies. But so did the European Union.

So, too, did India. Under Trump’s rates, Indian imports to the US would be subject to 26 percent tariffs. “India, very, very, tough,” the president said, as he waved around a chart that laid out the levies. “Very tough.” His announcement was a clear setback for New Delhi, which had advocated for Washington to impose lower barriers. In fact, less than two months earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met with Trump in the United States and pushed for lower tariffs. His efforts came up short.

But when I went on an India Today TV programme to discuss the tariffs, a different reality was taking effect. “Donald Trump, taking a moment out from the whole chart optics, mentioned that Prime Minister Modi is a friend,” declared Pooja Shali, the anchor. Did that “sort of bonhomie” result in lower tariffs for New Delhi? It was nominally a question for us guests, but it came off more as a statement. Indian pharmaceuticals, she pointed out, were exempt from the tariffs. So were Indian semiconductors. And the tariffs on India were lower than those on China.

With proper context, however, these facts meant nothing: right after calling Modi a friend, Trump criticised him for “not treating us right.” All pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, not just those from India, were exempt. Trump repeatedly mused about floating tariffs for these industries as well. And although the tariffs on India were lower than those on China, they were above average. But that was no matter. “BIG SILVER LINING IN TRUMP TARIFF FOR INDIA,” the chyron declared. The station played videos of Modi and Trump hugging and shaking hands. Modi, the narrative went, had finagled a great deal from Washington.