India Prime Minister Narendra Modi tells World Economic Forum globalisation is losing its lustre
US President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ trade policy and tax overhaul dominated discussion on the second day of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland
Protectionism is gaining ground and globalisation is losing its appeal, but India is open for business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.
Modi led a big government and business delegation to the summit in Davos, the first Indian prime minister do so in 21 years, aiming to showcase India as a fast-growing economic power and a potential driver of global growth.
His comments on rising trade barriers came ahead of an address to the forum later this week by US President Donald Trump, who has championed inward looking policies for the world’s biggest economy.
“Instead of globalisation, the power of protectionism is putting its head up. Their wish is not only to save themselves from globalisation, but to change the natural flow of globalisation,” Modi said at the opening of the forum, which has attracted 70 heads of state and government, chief executives and top bankers.
“The result of this is that we are seeing new types of tariff and non-tariff-based barriers being imposed. Bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations appear to have come to a halt.
“There is a slowdown in cross-border financial investments and the expansion of [the] global supply chain appears to have slowed down.”