Donald Trump isn’t the first US president to target India with tariffs. In 1989, George HW Bush used the same approach in a bid to ‘punish’ India for its ‘unfair’ trade practices
US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose punishing tariffs on India might seem unprecedented — until you flip the calendar back 36 years. In 1989, Washington tried to pry open the Indian economy by threatening tariffs, leading to a 12-month bitter standoff between the two nations. Eventually the US backed down, but the conflict left a scar on the bilateral relationship. A look back at the Super 301 episode can help us better understand the dynamics at play today.