“April is the cruellest month.” So begins T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, one of the 20th century’s most profound poems about alienation. The dark irony of Eliot’s April is not lost on businesses round the world as they prepare for April 2, when US president Donald Trump’s new reciprocal tariff rates are expected to kick in.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has already cautioned against the knock-on effects of a trade war on the global economy. “Global growth will slow this year and next, from 3.2 per cent last year to 3.1 per cent and 3 per cent in 2025 and 2026, respectively, while inflation will be stickier than previously expected,” the Paris-based club of 38 rich countries noted in its latest Interim Economic Outlook. Governments need to find ways of addressing their concerns together within the global trading system to avoid a significant ratcheting up of retaliatory trade barriers between countries, the report said.

At stake are living standards across the world.

Trump believes tariffs are the best way to boost US manufacturing. Countries with high trade surpluses with the US are most vulnerable. In Asia, that includes India and several ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries. The US is India’s largest trade partner. India’s tariff rates are much higher than those of the US, especially in specific sectors, like agriculture, textiles,........

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