Raisina Dialogue: S. Jaishankar Warns Against Trade Weaponization
- MGMMTeam
- Mar 19
- 3 min read
India is being compelled to seek more trustworthy, reliable, and transparent trade partners due to the increasing use of tariffs and export controls as economic weapons, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stated on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, India’s premier geopolitics conference, Jaishankar did not directly mention U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on multiple trade partners. Instead, he emphasized the importance of strengthening business relationships while navigating the challenges posed by the weaponization of financial flows and technology.
“Tariffs, sanctions, export controls – whether we like it or not, they are a reality, countries use them. If one looks at the last decade, we have seen a much greater weaponisation of pretty much any kind of economic activity,” Jaishankar spoke during a session centered on the theme ‘Commisars and Capitalists: Politics, business and new world order’.
Against the backdrop of Trump’s threat to impose reciprocal tariffs starting April 2, India is engaged in negotiations with the U.S. to finalize the first phase of a bilateral trade deal by fall. Meanwhile, New Delhi continues to purchase significant volumes of oil from Russia, despite Western sanctions over the Ukraine invasion.
Jaishankar highlighted various strategies to counter the weaponization of trade, emphasizing the importance of staying on the “right side of the weapon” to avoid being targeted and securing more reliable trade partners to mitigate risks. “The world today makes business decisions factoring in national security in a manner in which it did not do so before, especially in the digital era,” he said.
“In the digital era, it’s not just about cost, it is about comfort and trust. If you are today looking at a strategic level, the business conversations you keep hearing [are about] resilience, reliability, trust, transparency. You want to do business more and more with those with whom you are secure,” he said.
India is actively negotiating trade agreements with the UK, the European Union (EU), and the US, recognizing them as key growth markets, strategic technology and connectivity partners, and major destinations for Indian students and tourists. “When we make choices, it’s no longer just about efficiency and cost. There are non-economic factors which increasingly influence business decisions,” he said.
Jaishankar stressed the importance of establishing regulations for big data in trade agreements and the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). “It does matter where our data goes, who looks at our data, who processes it, who develops the AI based on our data. We can’t be agnostic in the digital era,” he said.
Dependability and trust are equally vital in this field, particularly as business and innovation face growing national competition. “India must play to its strengths – a huge amount of data because there’s a large population and an enormously diverse society...We have to make the most of it and...I would max it for myself,” he added.
When asked whether the Trump administration is working to establish a new world order, Jaishankar responded by saying, “If your question is what the US is doing, you should ask the Americans, not me...We should be doing many things, including engaging the Americans and engaging the Global South. Our effort is to maximise our options to increase our turnover, to improve our technology.”
Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer, Joel Kaplan, highlighted during the discussion that the Trump administration takes a distinct approach toward social media companies and American tech firms. He noted that the administration prioritizes promoting U.S. technology and advancing Western values in the tech sector. Additionally, it actively defends American tech companies against what it perceives as discriminatory regulations, particularly within the European Union.
Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri, highlighted the crucial role of technology-driven shipbuilding as Western nations strive to regain their foothold in the industry. This comes after losing dominance to China and South Korea, which currently construct the majority of the world’s merchant vessels.
“China has a long-term view of the importance of the maritime economy, starting from shipbuilding, moving to logistic business all the way to owning port infrastructure. Now, it’s time to rebalance all this,” he mentioned that India’s expertise in engineering, manufacturing, ship system fabrication, and skilled labor makes it a key player in the field.
Marianne Demarchi, CEO for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Swift, warned that the rapid expansion of digital payment systems and non-interoperable central bank digital currencies could threaten economic growth.
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