Donald Trump tariffs: What Ratan Tata might have said about US-India trade tensions
Reflections on how Ratan Tata would have urged India to turn Donald Trump’s trade tariffs into an opportunity for strategic self-reliance.
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Ratan Tata’s name has long stood as a symbol of integrity and leadership in business — not just in India, but across the world. The late industrialist, who led the Tata Group through decades of global expansion, was equally admired for his philanthropy and vision for a self-reliant India.
His passing in 2024 left the nation mourning the loss of a statesman of industry. Yet, as trade tensions flare once again between the United States and India under Donald Trump’s renewed presidency, many have wondered what Tata’s counsel might have been at such a moment.
Suhel Seth, a close friend and admirer of Tata, offered his reflections in a conversation with Storyboard18 Editor Delshad Irani. Seth said that if Tata were alive today, he would “exhort every Indian to think of a strategy. Not jugaad, not tactic, but think of a strategy how India can replace the economic relationship with the United States.”
India, Seth noted, is striving to become more self-reliant and resilient, viewing trade restrictions not as obstacles but as opportunities. He described Tata as someone who was “never grudgeful,” saying that the industrialist “would not say that this was the end of something but always found a better bypass.”
“I think Ratan Tata would find opportunities in any form of adversity and this would be equally one of them,” Seth said. “He wouldn't be the person to cry about it. This is something India and Indians should look forward to, as well as people in the government — that we cannot be crying because that will not help. You're dealing with Donald Trump - a megalomaniac who only works for Trump Incorporated, not America. But the hopefulness is that he will only be around for three years and a few months.”
Seth added that Tata would have approached the current trade climate “from a soulfully intellectual standpoint.” He would “exhort, never force, never implore but show the way,” Seth said. “If we revisit what he stood for, we will get all the answers.”
