India's Policy Dilemma: Lower Tariffs and Chase Exports or Protect Local Industry?

Centuries ago, in pursuit of trade, merchants charted the Silk Road and navigated sea routes that connected continents. Over time, as nations opened doors to free markets, enabling the movement of goods, capital, labour, and ideas flow more liberally, philosopher Marshall McLuhan aptly called this new world a “global village” in the 1960s. Today, the winds are shifting.

Recent tariff hikes by the US, targeting everything from Chinese electric vehicles to European steel signals a stark departure from the old world order. National security and job protection has prompted many developed economies to pivot towards promoting local industries. As ...