What Anand Mahindra has to say about global trade war

If India retaliates with tariffs, the effect will be very different from what it was post-independence, said industrialist Anand Mahindra, asserting that he believed India can stand tall in a trade war. His comment came amid the global outrage over import tariff imposed by the US on steel and Aluminium. The noted industrialist Mahindra wondered why Indian markets are being perturbed by the threat of global tariff wars.

"Not sure why Indian markets seem so perturbed by the threat of global tariff wars. Small, export-focused countries stand to lose. Countries with large domestic economies can easily withstand tariff threats. The world needs access to the fastest-growing large economy—India," Mahindra said in a Twitter post.

Today, India's free-market economy can access global technology and capital to fuel its own innovative start-ups and India can import commodities it lacks, Mahindra said.

Mahindra said he was not a believer in protectionism and enjoy competing globally but he believed that India can stand tall in a trade war.
He said MNCs wanting access to the Indian market will have to manufacture locally, "which they will". 
"So no danger of drifting back to a socialist, stagnant economy. I am no believer in protectionism and enjoy competing globally but I believe India can stand tall in a trade war," his twitter post said.

Earlier, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu termed the US administration's decisions to hike tariff on certain products "as an unfortunate development".