ZERO TARIFF IS NOT SURRENDER — IT’S AN INVITATION TO COMPETE

India doesn’t fear open markets. It just won’t enter them with closed eyes.

To Be Zero or Not To Be !!

INTRODUCTION

I write this not as a policy wonk or a think-tank addict. I write this as someone who has lived abroad for 30 years, seen both sides of the global trade game, returned home, lost most of what I had—and yet stayed optimistic.

Why? Because India is not a country to pity. It’s a country to bet on.

And when I hear talk of "zero tariff" trade with the United States, I don’t panic. I lean in.

Not because we’re ready across the board. But because competition is the cure we need in the right doses, and the right sectors. Having allowed competition at the lower end of the market for last thirty years from China, it is time India gets ready for competition for higher valued goods

Not everywhere. But where it ignites us.

WHAT WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE — LOUD AND PROUD

Yes, there’s a ton to learn from the U.S. But not through admiration — through absorption and application.

• Coca-Cola didn’t just flood the market with fizz. It taught us how to build last-mile cold chains and rural distribution. That muscle now powers Amul, Patanjali, and Reliance Retail.

• IBM and Microsoft didn’t just hire engineers. They mentored India’s IT generation into building service empires, and now product ecosystems.

• Silicon Valley taught us one startup can move a market. And now India is birthing two unicorns a month.

The right foreign presence doesn’t dominate India — it activates it. But only if we suitably adapt

WHERE INDIA MUST THROW THE DOORS WIDE OPEN

Let American goods come. Let them challenge our design, our supply chains, our standards.

But only in sectors where we can fight back.

• Tech & Electronics: Bring it. India’s chip and fab ecosystem needs the kick.

• Defence & Aerospace: Let Lockheed and Boeing compete. HAL and DRDO will sharpen up.

• Clean Energy: Solar, EVs, batteries — we need speed, and foreign gear can help.

• Software & Pharma: We don’t need protection here. We need access to American markets.

In these spaces, zero tariff is not a threat. It’s a training ground.

Where the Red Line Lies: Agriculture

We do not import American agricultural logic into India.

Not because we are scared. But because our farmers are not ready for a game where the other side is backed by subsidies, precision tech, and corporate lobbying.

India’s farmers still struggle with:

• Rain-fed unpredictability

• Broken mandi systems

• Lack of access to warehousing and credit

Letting subsidized U.S. corn, dairy, or meat flood our market is not trade. It’s sabotage.

Keep agri out of zero tariff. Period.

The Real Strategy: Selective Aggression

This is not about being inward-looking. This is about being sector-smart.

We want:

• Zero Tariff in High-Performance Sectors

• Strategic Protection in Vulnerable Zones

• Demand for U.S. Market Access in Return

• Tech Transfers and Co-Manufacturing, Not Just Imports

India doesn’t have to say no. It just has to say: on our terms.

MY MESSAGE TO THE GOVT. OF INDIA

Let the Americans come. Let them sell their Nikes and iPhones and Teslas to India’s top 10%.

Let Indian consumers enjoy the best the world has to offer.

But don’t think for a second we’re surrendering.

Every time a global player enters India, we learn, we adapt, we rise.

So yes, bring on zero tariff.

But let it be known: this isn’t a welcome mat. It’s a ring.

And India will fiercely compete.