Jaishankar says US has to respect India’s ‘red lines’, efforts on to find ‘landing ground’ in trade talks

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday that the US has to respect India’s “red lines”— issues that are non-negotiable for New Delhi—as the two nations are discussing a trade deal and still have to arrive at an agreement with the Trump administration continuing to push for access to the Indian market. Addressing the Kautilya Economic Conclave, Jaishankar said that efforts are under way to find a “landing ground”. “We have issues with the United States today—mainly that we haven’t yet reached a landing ground in our trade discussions. This has led to certain tariffs being levied on us, which we have publicly said are unfair. There is also a second tariff related to sourcing energy from Russia, whereas other countries, even those with more adversarial relations with Russia, have done so. These issues need to be resolved, and we are actively working on them,” Jaishankar said.

He said the penalty tariff is “very unfair” and stressed, without taking names, that countries with a “far more antagonistic relationship with Russia” are also buying Russian energy but similar punitive levies have not been imposed on them by the US. President Donald Trump has also pointed out European countries who buy fuel from Russia.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a completely new level in the application of sanctions, even the seizure of sovereign assets. The rise of crypto and competition for rare earths and critical minerals have become major factors shaping global rivalries,” he added.

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‘Belief in balance of power probably much weaker today’

Jishankar also said that there is a “growing tendency to weaponise everything” and that if a state has a tool in its toolkit, there is much less reticence—particularly on the part of major powers—to use it.

“We have also seen, in a few cases involving major powers, that their belief in the balance of power is probably much weaker. They seem to think they may not need the rest of the world as much as they did before. So, if they have margins of power, they are prepared to exercise those margins in pursuit of their policies and actions,” Jaishankar said.

‘India and US have held five rounds of negotiations’

“One of the big changes in recent years is that the United States, which for decades worried about its external energy dependence, has not only become self-sufficient but is now a significant exporter of energy and has made it a key part of its strategic outlook,” he further said.

Jaishankar said India has already conducted five rounds of negotiations with the US for a Bilateral Trade Agreement. “At the end of the day, there has to be a trade understanding with the United States because it is the world’s largest market, and also because much of the world has reached this understanding. It has to be an understanding where our bottom lines, our red lines are respected.”