Deloitte South Asia CEO Says Trade And Tariff Disputes Unlikely To Persist Indefinitely

Trade wars are not here to stay, says Deloitte South Asia CEO Romal Shetty, predicting current uncertainty could ease over the next few months.

Shetty said he believes India and the US are closer than they have been in many years, with the two sides sharing more common ground than ever before. India is in a more advantageous position than many other nations, owing to its strengthened relationships with the United States and its strategic geopolitical standing, Shetty told PTI in an interview.

The comment comes amid ongoing negotiations between India and the US on the crucial trade pact, as the August 1 tariff pause deadline looms. The US team is slated to visit India in August for the next round of negotiations on the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two countries. India and the US teams concluded the fifth round of talks in Washington last week, for the agreement.

"I do think these trade wars are for a particular time. It's not going to be a prolonged time. One way or the other, it will end...the trade war, the trade tariffs, the high tariffs...I don't think it is 50-60%...Those tariffs, my personal view, I don't think it will happen. It will come down," Shetty said.

To a question on what he believes would be best suited course for India vis-a-vis US when it comes to trade, Shetty said: "I actually do think that India and the US are at closest relationships in terms of over many, many years."

He said while India and US are looking to protect their own interests, 'it is about finding a middle ground'.

"My view is India and US have a lot more in common than ever before. So, I do think that they will meet. And I do think the policymakers will take care of the fact that there are certain marginalised sections, certain other sections...that will have a challenge if we have absolute free trade...I think it's not a very simple thing to close so easily, so they have to go through multiple rounds," he said.

Noting that a complex issue such a this requires multiple rounds of parlays, he expressed hope that the outcome would be a deal beneficial to both sides, and one that significantly increase each other's market as well.

"Hopefully, in next three, four months, I think we should be out of these tariff wars," he said.

He noted that India is positioned more strongly than many nations, both in terms of the relationships it has built with the US and its strategic and geopolitical positioning.

"I think that India is in a better position than most other countries, both in terms of the relationships that it has built with the US and strategically and geopolitically, also the way the world is," he said.