Trump's reciprocal tariffs on partners a tool to get fairer deals: Sunil Munjal

"This is a tool and a method for the US, which is the largest consuming country in the world, to get a fairer deal from all others. And they've been very plain about it," Munjal told ANI on the sidelines of the Carnegie Global Tech Summit here in the national capital.

Speaking on the pause on tariffs for countries that have engaged in negotiations with the US, Munjal said the temporary rollback was more tactical to give themselves time to actually get to better agreements with many of the countries which are in conversation with them, including India.

"There are active dialogues going on...So I think in the long run, this will probably help India more than many other countries," Munjal said.

"Even if you do a comparative of the tariffs, the tariff announced for India was lower than many of the countries in the region, many of the countries who are similar to ours in terms of what their product mix is for exports," added Munjal.

The US administration, under President Donald Trump, imposed 26 per cent tariffs on India, which were then paused for 90 days.

Since assuming office for his second term, President Trump has reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity, emphasising that the United States will match tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to ensure fair trade.

Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement last week has been sending tremors across asset classes globally, including here in India. Equity markets worldwide slumped, particularly after Trump's sweeping trade tariffs, which stoked fears of trade tension and an economic recession.

About India's position in the world, Munjal, talking to ANI, said India is one of the countries which is seen as less controversial than most others in the world.

"We have never actively gone and engaged in a war. For example, even at this moment, what India is doing by way of providing vaccines during COVID or providing an open platform, which we are now sharing. The UPI platform is being shared with multiple countries right now," Munjal said.

"So, we are seen as a country which is helpful to others, even in distress, and we are otherwise seen as a country because of a large size, we are a four plus trillion dollar economy now, and hoping to get to a seven plus trillion economy by the end of the decade itself," Munjal added.

"India, a rapidly growing economy, is being noticed by people, and I think we can and we ought to use that to position ourselves more squarely in the center stage in geopolitics," he further said.

Having said that, Munjal suggested that it is the right time for India to implement further reforms.

"I think we need to use this as an opportunity to do much more reform in India. Fortunately for us, the government, led by the Prime Minister himself, has been talking about opening more and reforming more. In all aspects, India has come a long way since 1991. A lot of reform has taken place, especially in the last 10 or 12 years, but India also still needs to do a lot of work," he said.

"I think this is the time to do it and give ourselves that opportunity to get a leg up in our own capabilities, especially for small industry, for agriculture and for those sectors that are otherwise not strengthened yet," he added.