Unilateral national interest.

"As New Delhi prepares to host the European Union's top leadership for India's 77th Republic Day celebrations and the 16th India-EU Summit on January 27," "the long-pending India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), formally the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), would mark a strategic, economic and geopolitical turning point." "The EU is pressing India to sharply reduce export duties on cars, which can exceed 100%." ET. But what happens if Ford, a US company, claims the same tax reductions on its exports from its manufacturing plants in Europe (wikipedia)? Will our tax officials suddenly present it with a huge tax demand for using the EU to avoid taxes on its sales in India, even as President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025 (BBC). Recently, the tax authorities in India demanded a capital gains tax of Rs 145 billion (over $1.7 billion) on Tiger Global (TG) Mauritius over the sale of Flipkart Singapore shares to Walmart. Flipkart Singapore owns Flipkart India so TG is accused of using the FTA with Mauritius to avoid tax on an Indian company. ET. The Supreme Court upheld the tax demand saying that "Treaties should be driven by national interest, not pressure from foreign governments and corporations." PTI. Indeed. But that surely must be during negotiations and not as an afterthought, to increase revenue. "Indian government data shows that in the 23 years to 2023, foreign investment inflows from Mauritius were the largest at $171 billion - a quarter of all investment inflows in that period." "An updated India-Mauritius treaty in 2017 ended the tax-free system but said all pre-2017 investments would continue to enjoy the previous benefits under a so-called grandfathering clause." Reuters. In the case of Nestle, a Swiss company, in 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that a tax benefit offered to one nation could not be extended to another even though both have Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with India. dpncindia.com. Switzerland promptly revoked India's Most Favored Nation (MFN) status under the DTAA and imposed 10% duties on Indian imports. NDTV. "India has issued a final warning to Apple that it will proceed in an antitrust case against the US tech giant as the company has delayed responses to officials," as "Apple has said it fears it could be fined up to $38 billion if India's competition watchdog uses its global turnover calculation for penalties, after an investigation found it had abused its position on its app store." ET. "Apple Inc's manufacturing push in India has resulted in a dramatic surge in iPhone exports, with shipments crossing the $50 billion mark under the production-linked incentive scheme period." TOI. The manufacturing sector in India comprises just 17% of GDP and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) would try to increase this to 25% of GDP. pib.gov.in. Apple is already manufacturing and exporting. Also, both Apple and Tiger Global are US companies and Trump is in the White House. In 2025, India removed a 6% tax on digital advertising, known as Google tax, which would have affected Google, Meta and Amazon. TOI. The Supreme Court ruled in national interest. Is our national interest served by driving away foreign investment even as we continuously run huge trade deficits (TOI)? "National interest" has already bowed to "pressure from a foreign government". Read all the fine print while signing FTAs. Selective change later will invite retaliation and a bad reputation. After all, every country has its own "national interest".