"For India to have a trade deal with the EU is incredibly important," the WEF chief said.
- India-US trade deal faces tariff-related delays but will materialise, said WEF chief Borge Brende
- "There is a clear will to find a way... So the situation is not something that's going to continue," he said
- US seeks Asian diversification, where India's services and manufacturing sectors are important, he said
The India-US trade deal might have had some hiccups because of the 50 per cent tariff issue and the subsequent, inevitable diplomatic strain, but World Economic Forum chief Borge Brende assured NDTV today that it will definitely materialise. In an exclusive interview, Mr Brende described the events of the last two months as "water under the bridge", explaining that the US wants to diversify into Asia, where India is "important" because of its massive services industry and the growing manufacturing sector.
"There is a clear will to now find a way... So, I think the situation we have had in the last few weeks is not something that's going to continue," Mr Brende told NDTV.
Asked if India's continued import of Russian oil could be a deal-breaker, Mr Brende said while it is an ongoing discussion between Washington and New Delhi, there is a chance that the Russia-Ukraine war could wind up in the next six months.
While there was no bar on the purchase of Russian oil when the Ukraine war started, a dialogue was essential with key buyers India and China if such a bar is now in place, he said. But he did not favour a complete ban on Russian oil either, saying it would inevitably push up oil prices.
The frost that settled on diplomatic ties after the imposition of 50 per cent tariff by Donald Trump is slowly easing, especially after US President's messages and the Prime Minister's response.
While it came after India's leaning the other way -- increased bonhomie with Russia and the reset in relations with China -- there were still questions about the fate of the trade deal, progress on which had slowed to a crawl.
China has been a country the US has traditionally been wary of and a tough competitor in terms of trade. So there was speculation that concern in Washington climbed a few notches at the renewed ties between the two Asian giants.
Mr Brende's response to the issue was nuanced.
While it was a "good thing" for the world that India and China were talking and trading, it is "not a good thing if there are problems on the border," he said.
On rare earth - essential for the semiconductor industry and one of India's key interests in renewing trade with China, he said "rare earth is not rare". There was a caveat though - "There is a lot of rare earth around the world, but it is not ripe yet," he said. "I think Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India was also important. Also, Prime Minister Modi's visit to China," he added.
His unequivocal support was reserved for the coming trade deal with the European Union -- one of the four big trading blocks -- which is expected by the year-end.
"For India to have a trade deal with the European Union as the second largest economic block in the world is incredibly important. But it is also important for the EU because the EU also wants to diversify their export," Mr Brende said.
