There is a line, Haye mar jaayenge/hum to lut jaayenge/aesi baaten kiya na karo, in the famous Urdu poem, Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo. Written by the Pakistani poet Fayyaz Hashmi, the poem is beautifully sung by Farida Khanum. The line was the sum and substance of what Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal told export promotion councils (EPCs) in his recent interaction. Not in these words of course.

His message was prosaic—and correct. “Reflecting on the reciprocal tariffs, he has cautioned the EPCs to come out of their protectionist mindset and encouraged them to be bold and ready to deal with the world from a position of strength and self-confidence," an official press release said.

Last month too, Goyal had exhorted corporate India to shed its protectionist mindset and focus instead on becoming globally competitive.

US President Donald Trump has promised to impose sweeping levies on India from April 2. “India charges us 100 per cent tariffs; the system is not fair to the US, it never was. On April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they use non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will use non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market," Trump said early this month while addressing a Joint Session of the US Congress.

This is even........

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