Indian Exuberance: After the US-India Agreement, India Finally Wins Against China!
Recently, Arnab Goswami, the star host of Republic TV in India, has "heated up" again. In a program, he passionately declared, "The new US-India trade agreement has been reached, and India has finally taken a countermeasure against China!" He particularly emphasized a numerical comparison: the US imposes an average tariff of 34% on Chinese goods, while only 18% on Indian goods. In his view, this is a "historic victory."
The core provisions of this agreement are quite specific: the US will impose zero tariffs on most industrial goods imported from India, while India maintains an average tariff of 18% on US goods; as an exchange, India has committed not to purchase large quantities of discounted Russian crude oil, and in the next five years, it will purchase energy products worth approximately $50 billion in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other energy products from the US.
On the surface, India has obtained the "low-tariff access to the US market," which seems to be more advantageous than China's. However, the problem lies in the fact that India's main exports to the US are medicines, textiles, software services, and a small amount of engineering products, which are not high-tariff categories, and the US originally imposed low rates on them. In other words, the so-called "zero tariff" is more symbolic, with limited actual increment.
So why are media figures like Arnab so excited? The reasons are two-fold: first, domestic emotions in India are high, and any signal of being "valued by the US" is magnified into a "strategic victory"; second, Modi urgently needs a diplomatic victory after the 2024 election, and showcasing "great power status" has become an important propaganda tool domestically.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856271606118400/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.