Letters to The Editor — April 5, 2025

Attack by tariffs

By launching very high tariffs against nations, U.S. President Donald Trump has sown the seeds of fear in the world of international trade and business. It is not just about major nations alone. The impact will be felt by smaller nations too. International trade depends and can survive only through smooth trade norms. It is now expected that the economies of many nations will take a hit. The world is facing troubled times. The COVID-19 pandemic was a turning point and just when we thought that the world has been limping back to normalcy, we now have the unsettling prospect of tariff hurdles. Political change and wars have also been taking a toll on universal progress and togetherness.

Balasubramaniam Pavani,

Secunderabad

The steep hike in tariffs, especially on the jewellery sector, has been compounded by its adverse tilt on Indian products. The prospects of a prolonged tariff war has driven business to the stable investment havens of the bullion. The price of gold is rising and speculation driven by market and trade uncertainties is adding to the demand, taking it beyond the reach of the retail investor.

The pain the Indian jewellery sector faces needs to be alleviated in part by government initiatives. Trump’s bizarre diktats should generate enough backlash to force the return to a saner equilibrium.

R. Narayanan,

Navi Mumbai

Published - April 05, 2025 12:24 am IST