Mahindra CEO on US Trade Talks & Tariffs

New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) Mahindra Group CEO and MD Anish Shah has expressed confidence in the government's handling of trade talks with the US, saying he was hopeful of a strong and positive outcome for the country from the dialogue.

With just a day left before his 25 per cent reciprocal trade tariffs take effect, US President Donald Trump is doubling down on his threat to impose even higher duties on India, accusing it of funding Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine through continued purchases of Russian oil.

"For us, it is not very material," he said on the impact of US tariffs on the Mahindra group," said Shah in an interview with PTI Videos.

Shah, who leads the USD 25 billion SUVs-to-software conglomerate, said the Indian government has always kept the overall interest of the country in mind and operated in a way that could get a good solution.

Indian officials continue to negotiate with the US for a bilateral trade deal by October/November and see the higher duties on the country's exports to the US as a temporary measure until such a pact is nailed.

US tariffs are a lesser worry compared to geopolitical upheaval witnessed in the last few years that worried India Inc "a lot" more, Shah said.

"Based on everything I've seen, our government do, they've always kept the overall interest of India in mind and operated in a way where they can get good solutions. So, I have full confidence that this will be resolved and it will settle down to something that will be a very strong outcome, strong positive outcome," he said.

"I have a lot of confidence, and I'm really not too worried about it," he said. "There are multiple other things on the geopolitical front over the last few years that we worried about a lot. I would not put this in that."

First semiconductor shortage and now restrictions on rare earth magnets are the geopolitical challenges he was referring to.

Shah asserted that the overall relationships between India and the US, "are very strong, and everything will continue to be so".

He cited the example of the recently signed India-UK FTA as an example of how the government "has done a really nice job."

The FTA balances "a large number of things," enabling Indian companies to export a lot more to the UK across multiple sectors while also opening up the domestic market to products from Britain.

While Trump calls India among the world's most protectionist countries, the Commerce Ministry last week reiterated that New Delhi was committed to a "fair, balanced and mutually beneficial deal," but that it will also "secure" its "national interest."

On Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs stated that India was being unfairly singled out for its Russian oil purchases, pointing out that both the US and the European Union continue to trade with Moscow despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.