Why Even Pakistani Intellectuals and the Entire World Want India to Win the Trade War Against the US
The escalating trade war between India and the United States isn’t just a bilateral spat over tariffs and wheat. It has become a global flashpoint, reverberating from Washington to Delhi, Moscow to Beijing, and even to Islamabad. What’s striking is this: not just ordinary Indians, not just developing nations, but even seasoned Pakistani commentators traditionally India's harsh critics are openly rooting for New Delhi’s triumph against US trade pressure. Why this rare consensus? Why do global voices, including those from Pakistan, hope India won't blink?
Here’s a deep-dive from an Indian perspective, weaving together recent developments, expert analysis, powerful data, and the very real human stories at the heart of this 21st-century standoff.
The Heart of the Battle: Seeds, Sovereignty, and Survival
India’s Fight Isn’t Just About Tariffs - It’s About Control Over Food Itself
Behind the headlines of 50% US tariffs and crumbled trade talks lies a battle for the future of food. This isn't about globalism versus protectionism in the abstract. For millions of Indian farmers, it’s literal life and death who controls seeds, who calls the shots in rural India, and whether farming families survive or surrender to indebtedness.
It all started when agri-giant Monsanto (now Bayer) introduced genetically modified (GM) BT cotton into India in the 1990s. At first, yields soared. But soon, the dark side surfaced: farmers were forced to buy new seeds each year (the seeds are sterile), pests adapted, and Monsanto’s royalties soared. The result was devastation: more than 300,000 reported farmer suicides across two decades.
Banning royalties and capping corporate control over seeds became a policy firewall. For India, it’s about sovereignty, survival, and the right not to have its farming future dictated by the interests of foreign corporations or dominant nations.
The US Offensive: Why Tariffs Became a Weapon
What the US Wants
Under President Trump, the US has imposed back-to-back tariffs totaling 50% on Indian goods—the highest on any large US partner except China. While the official reason may be India’s “pro-Russia” energy policy, the truth is more layered. US agricultural states like Iowa and Illinois, hit by global oversupply and price drops, want new markets for their genetically modified corn, soy, and feed. The Indian market, with its 1.4 billion people and strict GM crop rules, is the ultimate prize.
What’s at Stake for India
India fears that opening its markets would do to food security what BT cotton did to rural lives intensify dependency, destroy resilience, and undermine sovereignty. That’s why, despite US pressure, India has refused to let its dairy and crop markets open to US GM products or lower its farm tariffs, among the world’s highest.
Why the World and Even Pakistan ,Is Watching and Hoping India Wins
A Rare Moment of Unity
Pakistani analysts, often critical of India, are now urging New Delhi to resist Washington. Why? Because the story of corporate agriculture, lost seed sovereignty, and devastated rural communities is a familiar one across much of the Global South. If India, the world’s largest democracy, collapses under pressure, it sets a grim template for every other developing country faced with similar demands from richer, more powerful trading partners.
Voices from Pakistan
Pakistani commentators and even some former officials have said, “If a major economy like India can hold the line, maybe we can too. If India surrenders, we won’t be able to stand against these genetically modified seeds. God forbid, they will enter our homes and our families, and ruin our future generations.”
This sentiment is not restricted to South Asia. Across Africa and Latin America, leaders are watching India's resistance and rooting for it, seeing it as a litmus test for food sovereignty worldwide.
What the Data Shows
The Numbers Behind India’s Stand
- India’s agri-food exports to the US: Nearly $2 billion in 2024-25.
- Average Indian agri tariffs: 39% to 65% on farm goods the highest “farmer firewall” in the G20.
- Suicides linked to seed debt: Over 300,000 Indian farmer suicides since 1995, spotlighting the human cost of agro-corporate dependency.
- Impact of tariffs: Indian exporters face an unprecedented 50% duty starting August 27, 2025, threatening jobs and MSMEs across sectors from rice to software.
- Services trade: Despite the deficit in goods, India and the US have a nearly balanced exchange in services worth $84 billion annually, showing that trade is more complex than just goods versus goods.
The Geopolitical Domino Effect
New Global Alliances Are Emerging
The US-India standoff has had unintended consequences: it's nudged India closer to China and Russia. This is not lost on analysts:
- China and India are exploring new trade openings, which could undercut the US’s strategic leverage in Asia.
- Russia has expanded energy ties with India, defying Western calls to isolate Moscow, as India seeks to reduce its dependence on the US market and find new import/export channels.
World Sentiment
International development agencies and agricultural activists support India’s position, seeing it as a stand against “genetic colonialism”—the idea that multinationals can patent and control the most basic unit of life: the seed.
The Politics: Why India Can’t Afford to “Blink”
Rural Votes and National Security
The Modi government knows that its rural voter base will not forgive a sell-out. Farmers form the backbone of the BJP’s core electoral support, and any move perceived as “foreign interference” or corporate capture of Indian agriculture would be politically toxic. This is a battle for national honour as much as economics.
Grassroots Movements
From the 2020 farmer protests to ongoing bans on GM imports, India’s villages have spoken loudly. The struggle is as much about dignity as it is about money.
Stories Behind the War
The Reality on the Ground
For millions of Indian families, the trade war is not some distant diplomatic dance. It’s the pain of a father whose crop failed because he could not afford a new pack of patented seeds; a mother watching news of tariffs and wondering if her children will inherit a farm or migrate to a city slum. It’s stories like these human, heartbreaking, resilient that define the stakes.
Why It’s Viral: An Emotional Push
The rest of the world Pakistan included sees in India’s fight a symbol of hope. Social media across South Asia is flooded with memes and testimonials: “If India can resist, anyone can.” Some Pakistani intellectuals openly say they want India to win so their own country doesn’t fall prey to similar pressures. It’s rare, but it’s real.
India’s Fight Is a Fight for Us All
This trade war is not about nationalism, bravado, or scoring points against a superpower. It’s about who writes the rules for global agriculture, who gets to eat, and whether poor farmers or giant corporations will run the food system.
As Indians, our resistance is more than a policy choice it’s a stand for sovereignty, dignity, and a future where seeds, fields, and food aren’t monopolized for profit. That’s why the world, including many in Pakistan, want us to win. When India stands unbowed, it’s not just an Indian victory, but a victory for every community fighting for control over its own future.
References :
Council on Foreign Relations: Will Trump's India Tariffs Affect a Critical U.S. Partnership?
https://www.cfr.org/article/will-trumps-india-tariffs-affect-critical-us-partnershipReuters: India approaching U.S. trade issue with "very open mind," minister says
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/india-approaching-us-trade-issue-with-very-open-mind-minister-says-2025-08-22/Times of India: India-US trade deal: US team may cancel August visit, says report
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/india-us-trade-deal-us-team-cancels-august-visit-50-trump-tariffs-to-take-effect-from-august-27/articleshow/123337006.cmsThe Diplomat: Can India Survive the Trade War?
https://thediplomat.com/2025/08/can-india-survive-the-trade-war/Al Jazeera: Can the new India-China bonhomie reshape trade and hurt the US in Asia?
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/8/23/can-the-new-india-china-bonhomie-reshape-trade-and-hurt-the-us-in-asiaNew York Times: The Trade That Binds the Indian and American Economies
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/business/trump-tariffs-india.htmlReuters: US-India trade talks scheduled for August called off, source says
https://www.reuters.com/world/india/us-india-trade-talks-scheduled-august-called-off-source-says-2025-08-16/Al Jazeera: As Trump splits from India, is the US abandoning its pivot to Asia?
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/8/15/as-trump-splits-from-india-is-the-us-abandoning-its-pivot-to-asiaYahoo Finance: Trump tariffs live updates
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/trump-tariffs-live-updates-us-slams-india-again-for-buying-russian-oil-while-china-backs-new-delhi-200619317.html
Discover more from Debasish Sinha | Author | Entrepreneur
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