India's Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, on Friday, asserted that "India will not bow down to anybody", and the countries worldwide will restructure their trade routes and partners.
While addressing a Business Today event, Piyush Goyal said, "The world keeps evolving, international trade keeps finding new pathways. What we are seeing today is possibly a churn that is bound to happen every few years - new countries come up, some go down. This is India's time."
He added that India's exports for the current fiscal year are expected to be higher than those of last year. In 2024-25, India's exports reached a whopping $825 billion. Goods shipment valued at over $437 billion, the same as the previous year.
When asked about the tariffs imposed by Trump, Piyush Goyal quickly responded, saying that India finds opportunities in crisis. He stated, "The nation's morale is high...There is a lot of strength in the Indian economy...India will emerge as the winner."
With the current uncertainty and growing challenges ahead with the imposition of tariffs, along with an additional penalty, the rate now stands at a total of 50%. The initial duty came into effect on August 7, while the rest will be imposed from August 27.
Trump even referred to India as a "dead economy". Piyush Goyal, however, expressed his confidence in the country's economy, hitting out at the President for his comments.
He said, "Samajhne vale samajh gaye, jo na samjhe vo anari hai (those who are wise have understood, but the naive haven't). It's so sad that the whole world is looking up to India, the whole world recognizes us as the fastest-growing large economy...Today, the world recognises the strength of India, recognises our demographic advantage, and recognises that 1.4 billion aspirational Indians bring to the table as demand. India is a huge market: Why do you think India is queuing up to trade or have market access?"