Amid increasing global concerns over Washington's tariff tussle, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has said that the world is seeking a stable and predictable environment for trade; and economic practices should be fair, transparent and to everyone's benefit. He said India strongly believes that the international trading system's foundational principles of non-discriminatory and rules-based norms must be protected and that there is a need to create more resilient and reliable supply chains.

He said ‘The world as a collective is seeking a stable and predictable environment for trade and investment. At the same time, it is imperative that economic practices are fair, transparent and to everyone’s benefit’. He said ‘When there are multiple disruptions, our objective should be to proof it against such shocks. That means creating more resilient, reliable, redundant and shorter supply chains’. He said the world requires ‘constructive and cooperative’ approaches to promote trade that is sustainable. He added ‘Increasing barriers and complicating transactions will not help. Neither would the linking of trade measures to non-trade matters’.

Jaishankar represented Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a virtual BRICS summit that saw participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other leaders of the grouping. It was convened by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss trade disruptions triggered by U.S.’s policies on trade and tariff. The U.S. slapped 50% tariffs on Brazilian exports like in the case of India. At the summit, he called for urgent resolution to ongoing conflicts, adding the Global South has experienced a deterioration in its food, energy and fertilizer security. However, the major focus of his speech was on trade.

He further said BRICS itself can set an example by reviewing trade flows among its member states. He said ‘Where India is concerned, some of our biggest deficits are with BRICS partners and we have been pressing for expeditious solutions. We hope that this realisation will be part of the takeaways from today’s meeting’. The remarks assumed significance as they came amid India's ballooning trade deficit with China. He said ‘The international trading system is based on the foundational principles of open, fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, inclusive, equitable and a rules-based approach with special and differential treatment for developing countries’. He added ‘India strongly believes that this should be protected and nurtured’.