Global trade is being weaponized through tariffs: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, December 17 said that global trade is increasingly being “weaponized” through tariffs and other measures, and India will have to negotiate carefully. He said that the country will get additional benefits from the overall strength of the economy.

“Trade is being weaponised through tariffs, through a number of other measures and India will have to negotiate this carefully and be mindful of not just the tariffs, but I think overall the strength of our economy will give us additional leverage,” Sitharaman said at Times Network’s India Economic Conclave 2025.

The Finance Minister said it is now “very clear” globally that trade is not free and fair.

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He said, “India can be lectured saying that you (India) are very inward-looking, you are the tariff king and so on. But tariffs have been weaponized,” he said, adding that India never intended to weaponize tariffs.

India has only saved its domestic industries from flooding, he said, which is caused by a predator.

But today the weaponization of trade is not without criticism, the minister said, with some countries saying tariffs are not good and that no one should take these measures, but “suddenly we have new people coming and saying we will come with tariff barriers and there is no question. So this seems to be the new normal”.

These comments are important as the high tariffs imposed by the US have been disruptive to global trade. Mexico has also recently announced plans to impose higher tariffs on countries with which it does not have free trade agreements.

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