India Trade

The U.S. government’s response to the crisis in China has been, by all accounts, measured and resonable, supportive of democratic aspirations. Yet its response to the so-called “trade problem” with the vibrant democracy of India has been only slightly short of hysterical.

Instead of supporting the attempts being made by India, which despite an autarkic past has liberalized imports, opened up hitherto unreachable markets and indulged market economics to an unprecedented extent, the Administration has sought to isolate these trends by threatening trade retaliation for those things that have not yet been done. How ridiculously shortsighted!

Why is it that we always seem to cut off our collective nose to spite our face?

ROHIT SHUKLA

Los Angeles