Thank you dear subscribers, we are overwhelmed with your response.
Your Turn is a unique section from ThePrint featuring points of view from its subscribers. If you are a subscriber, have a point of view, please send it to us. If not, do subscribe here: https://theprint.in/subscribe/
Globalisation was once marketed as a universal win: borders would fade, supply chains would expand, and prosperity would trickle from New York bankers to Surat diamond cutters. In 2025, that promise feels less like Adam Smith’s dream and more like a Bollywood screenplay, complete with heroes, villains, side plots, and the inevitable jugaad. The latest scenes are telling. India is quietly using the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to blunt the sting of U.S. tariffs, while the European Union (EU) delays its 19th sanctions package on Russia to ensure it aligns neatly with G-7 priorities. Both moves show how tariffs and sanctions have stopped being exceptions. They are now the grammar of international trade.
USA’s Tariff Gym: Back to basics, with fireworks
The United States, under Donald Trump’s second presidency, has rediscovered tariffs with the glee of a child lighting firecrackers. Indian exports of textiles, pharmaceuticals, seafood, and gems now face duties of up to 50%. The threat of 100% tariffs looms large for countries, including India and China, that continue purchasing Russian crude.
The numbers underline the risk. India exported over $78 billion worth of goods to the U.S. in 2024, with textiles and pharma making up nearly $20 billion. A tariff wall of this size risks hollowing out the already thin margins of Indian exporters. China, already scarred by years of U.S. trade wars, finds itself staring at possible penalties on its $60 billion Russian crude imports. Even allies are not spared. German carmakers already stretched by the expensive shift to electric vehicles fear their exports may be the next casualty. Washington’s message is unmistakable: trade with U.S. rivals if you must, but be prepared to pay tuition fees at the University of Tariffs.
Brussels’ Sanctions Ballet: Elegant but off-beat
If Washington wields the sledgehammer, Brussels prefers ballet shoes. Since 2022, the EU has cut Russian crude imports from 27% of supply to just 3%. Its 19th sanctions package, currently on pause—seeks to plug loopholes by targeting Russian banks, energy companies, and crypto exchanges that act as shadow financiers.
Yet the sanctions are not aimed only at Moscow. Draft proposals include penalising Indian and Chinese firms accused of enabling Russia’s oil trade, whether through purchases or financial facilitation. But the performance often slips. Hungary and Slovakia still enjoy exemptions for Russian oil, making Europe’s sanctions regime look less like moral conviction and more like a buffet spread, where some nations pile their plates and others nibble on side dishes.
India’s Dubai jugaad: Bypassing the toll gate
India, caught between Washington’s tariff wall and Brussels’ sanctions maze, has leaned on its oldest survival tool—jugaad. Enter Dubai. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed with the UAE in 2022, grants India preferential access on over 97% of tariff lines, covering nearly 99% of its exports to the UAE in value terms. This has allowed Indian goods to flow tariff-free into the Gulf and, from there, re-export to Africa, Europe, and beyond.
The results are clear. India-UAE trade surged 19% in FY25 to $99.7 billion, with textiles rising 6.2% to $2.1 billion, while gems, jewellery, and pharma also gained. At the centre of this boom stands DP World’s Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone (JAFZA), which provides Indian firms with integrated logistics, warehousing, and distribution networks that transform Dubai into a global redistribution hub.
Yet jugaad has limits. If Brussels tightens sanctions on Russian-linked trade, even the Dubai route may falter.
The Global Bazaar: A mall with entry fees
The world economy no longer resembles a seamless marketplace but a mall with guarded floors. In Washington’s wing, entry depends on strategic loyalty. In Brussels’, compliance with sanctions decides access. The BRICS+ section, led by India, China, and Russia, experiments with de-dollarized trade. And in between sits the Gulf corridor—neutral hubs like the UAE—acting as middlemen for everyone.
This isn’t de-globalisation but re-globalisation, stitched together through rerouting, relabelling, and tariff premiums. Trade continues, though every transaction now carries the shadow of politics.
The Satirical Takeaway: Everyone has a role
The global trade drama has a familiar cast: America as the strict father with punishments, Europe the rule-heavy mother, India the clever child sneaking out of tuition via Dubai, China the sulking sibling, and Russia the shady uncle everyone denies but can’t avoid. The rest of the world watches, paying double for popcorn thanks to higher costs. But this is no comedy. Tariffs and sanctions are now the architecture of trade. For India and others, survival demands not just competitiveness but flexibility, partnerships, and the art of jugaad in a bazaar where politics sets the price of commerce.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.