The Righteous Path.

"US President Donald Trump admitted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a 'much tougher negotiator' than him following discussions on a possible trade deal and tariffs with India." Honeyed words but pointless because, "The statement from Trump came hours after he announced a new reciprocal tariff policy for all trade partners of the US. Additionally, Trump also announced that US and India will have a new trade deal." Seems as if everything was decided already. "President Trump often talks about MAGA." Viksit Bharat translates to MIGA. "And together, the India-US have a MEGA partnership for prosperity," said Mr Modi. According to Mr Amit Shah, Mr Modi resorts to political 'jumla' (DH) and people believe him. The key takeaways from the visit are: "India and US set a bilateral trade target of $500 billion by 2030," "US would sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to India," "India is set to buy US energy of almost $25 billion," India "expressed readiness to take back those citizens living unlawfully in the US" and "US approved the extradition of 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana to India." TOI. The F-35 fighter jet costs between $80-$115 million, each flight hour costs around $36,000 and lifetime expenses are estimated at $1.7 trillion. CNBC. Two of these would almost equal India's GDP in 2013 at $3.567 trillion at current prices (World Bank). That is surely a MEGA deal. "The big mistake commentators make is to think that the problem is a bilateral one of tariff rates." "A much bigger problem is the indirect impact of Trump's chaotic, unpredictable policies. Unpredictability will kill animal spirits of business across the world," wrote Swaminathan SA Aiyar. That will be cheered by the degrowth movement. "For some, particularly business leaders and investors, the concept of 'degrowth' (as the idea has been named) is anathema because economic expansion is believed by many to be essential to human flourishing and freedom." However, "The core of the degrowth argument is the historical fact that economic growth and emissions are inexorably connected." hbr.org. In fact, "Trump may have done Indians a big favor." "High and inconsistent tariffs prevented India's producers from entering global supply chains. Meanwhile, imports from China - the main vulnerability that officials wanted to address through import taxes - continue to grow. Economic resilience comes from productivity improvement and greater competitiveness," wrote Mihir Sharma. India exported goods worth a total of $87.4 billion to the US in 2024. ustr.gov. But, "Our exports of software will cross $250 billion and are so far immune to tariff action." "Inward remittances from non-resident Indians clocked $129 billion last year and are rising faster than our nominal GDP." Besides, "It is in India's interest to lower import tariffs, not only to please Trump, but to increase the productivity of domestic firms," wrote Ajit Ranade. Seems that India had strayed from the Righteous Path (Wisdom Library). Experts believe that Trump is guiding us back. Thank you, Mr Trump.