India's True Two-Front Battle: Navigating US and China's Economic Coercion

• India faces a 'two-front battle' not militarily, but economically, against the US and China, who use trade as coercive statecraft.
• China employs asymmetric market access, opaque regulations, and high tariffs (e.g., 117% on Indian fertilizers) to restrict Indian goods while dumping its own.
• The US uses tariffs (e.g., Section 232 on steel/aluminum, GSP removal) and pressure on pharmaceutical exports to gain market access in India.
• India has responded with domestic reforms, diversification, anti-dumping actions, and FTAs with partners like Japan, UK, and EU to counter these pressures.
• Both superpowers, despite different methodologies, exhibit similar tactics of economic coercion, making them unreliable partners for India.

Why It Matters: India navigates economic coercion from both the US and China, necessitating diversification and multilateral partnerships.