Message to Trump? FM Sitharaman says 'trade getting weaponised through tariffs'; adds India will have to negotiate carefully

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said global trade is increasingly "getting weaponised" through tariffs and other measures, warning that India will have to negotiate carefully in a changing global environment.

Her remarks come amid US President Donald Trump's earlier imposition of a 25% duty on India citing trade deficits, followed by another 25% penalty linked to India’s purchase of Russian crude. Mexico has also recently announced steep tariff hikes on imports from several countries, including India.




"Trade is getting weaponised through tariff, through many other measures and India will have to negotiate its way carefully in this, and not just take care of tariff but I think overall our economy strength is what is going to give us that additional advantage," Sitharaman said at an event.

"India can be lectured saying you (India) are very inward-looking, you are a tariff king and so on. But tariff has been weaponized," she said, adding that India’s intention was never to weaponise tariffs.

She further said that it is now "very clear" globally that trade is no longer free and fair.

According to the finance minister, India has only acted to protect its domestic industries from unfair competition. She said the country safeguarded its industries against flooding that happens from a "predator".

Sitharaman also pointed to what she described as a double standard in global trade. While tariffs are often criticised, she said some countries are now openly embracing them without facing scrutiny.

"Suddenly we have newer people coming up saying we'll come up with tariff barriers and there's no questioning. So that seems to be the new normal," she added.

Earlier last week, Mexico approved tariff hikes of up to 50% from 2026 on a wide range of imports from countries that do not have free trade agreements with it, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. India has already begun discussions with Mexico to mitigate the impact of steep import tariffs.