Topic 1 : Religious internationalism
Introduction: As he races to clinch the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, Donald Trump is intensifying the outreach to America’s Christian nationalists. This outreach will be interesting to see in a geo-political context when the ‘Christian nationalism’ will go international.
USA’s flirting with Christian conservatives
- Christian conservatives and radicals of different kinds have long been part of US electoral politics.
- This election season, they are melding into a powerful political stream that seeks to make America a Christian nation.
- Although there is no single platform and agreed agenda, several demands stand out.
- Christian nationalists would like to end the separation of Church and state, push back against LGBTQ rights, abolish abortion rights, counter what they see as ultra-liberal hegemony over educational institutions, and reverse the rising tide of immigration into the US.
The interaction with Christian USA and BJP party in India
- The rise of “Christian nationalism” in the US and its growing resonance across the Western world is likely to open some interesting intersections with the BJP and the Indian government in the widely expected third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- Traditionally, India has had little engagement with the Christian political formations in the US and the West.
- That has begun to change in the last few years, as many of these conservative forces reach out to the BJP.
Paradoxes of Christian nationalism in the US
1. Trump was not the 1st choice of conservatives
- The unlikely warmth between Trump and the Christian nationalists.
- Trump certainly does not come across as a “man of piety”.
- In 2016, Trump was not the preferred candidate among Republicans.
- It is a relationship that has grown big since then.
- Trump has rightly claimed credit for his administration’s record in appointing conservative judges to the US Supreme Court and challenging liberals on a range of issues.
- Today, many Christian nationalists fervently believe that Trump is the “chosen one” on a “divine mission” to deliver America back to Christ.
- Christian nationalists hope to “make America pray again”, which works well with Trump’s promise to “make America great again”.
2. Conservatives were always present in US politics
- The tensions between the formal secularism of the US constitution and the traditional centrality of religion in the fabric of American polity.
- The US constitution does not establish a state religion but Christianity has remained an important factor throughout its history.
- In the mid-1950s, the US added “under god” to the loyalty oath and made “In God, we trust” the country’s official motto.
- In the 2000s, George W Bush promoted “faith-based initiatives” to complement social welfare programmes.
- The last few years have seen a steady spread of Christian nationalist ideology among the lower courts, state legislatures, and local governments.
3. The fear of marginalization among the Caucasian majority in the USA
- Third, liberal critics tend to dismiss Christian nationalism as part of the hopeless agenda to “make America white again”.
- To be sure, the Caucasian fears of marginalisation lend an ethnic and exclusivist dimension to Christian nationalism.
- However, sections of Christian nationalists are inclusivist and reach out to African-American and Hispanic Christian communities that are socially conservative and reject the liberal secularising agenda.
4. America’s Christian “nationalism” is going “international”
- In Europe, variants of Christian nationalism are on the rise and are boosting far-right political parties.
- The European agenda is similar to the American one — opposition to immigration, especially Muslims, the protection of traditional European culture, rejection of gender rights, and promotion of family values under threat from the liberal hegemony over social life.
- Connections are being forged between the Christian nationalists across the Atlantic.
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other European leaders who support traditional values have been lionised by Christian nationalists in the US.
- A surprising figure on that list is Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who has put religion and ethno-nationalism at the top of his political agenda.
- The Christian nationalist enthusiasm for Putin is one factor behind the current deep American divisions on Ukraine.
The impact of Rise of religious nationalism across west on India
- The rise of religious nationalism in Christendom, in parallel with the consolidation of the BJP as the dominant force in the Indian polity, could mark a major break in the evolution of India’s internationalism.
- Over the last century, India’s global political connections were shaped by India’s communist, socialist and Congress parties that built ties with the left and centre-left forces in Europe.
- The decline of the communist parties in the West has been matched by the marginalisation of the Indian communists.
- Although the social democratic parties in Europe remain a force to be reckoned with, the Indian socialists have fragmented into family-dominated fiefdoms with little interest in global affairs and no capability to engage with their historical counterparts in the West.
- The Congress has long ceased engaging its centre-left counterparts in the West.
- Unlike Congress and the Left, the RSS and the BJP have less of an internationalist history.
- This is unsurprising given their nativist roots.
- This could change as the nativists around the world go global.
- Over the last few decades, the BJP has begun to connect, if tentatively, with political parties in other countries.
- As it expanded at home in the last decade, the BJP has enhanced its outreach to the diplomatic missions in Delhi as well as foreign political parties under the “Get to know the BJP” initiative.
- Christian Democrats and other conservative parties in Europe, too, have been knocking at the BJP’s door.
Conclusion: It is not clear if Christian nationalists can overturn liberal hegemony in the US and Europe, but they are bound to make some difference to Western polities, domestically and internationally. This could open up new international possibilities for both the BJP and the Modi government, which have often locked horns with the Western liberal establishments in recent years.
Topic 2 : Costs of barriers
Introduction: Since the early 1990s, India has been steadily moving towards a low tariff structure. What was the trend of tariff application by India in the past few years is interesting to study.
Various types of import tariffs and duties in India
Basic Customs Duty (BCD)
- This is the most fundamental import duty, levied as a percentage of the goods' assessed value. BCD rates vary significantly across product categories.
- BCD serves as a source of revenue and acts as a protectionist measure for Indian industries.
- Countervailing Duty (CVD): Imposed to offset subsidies provided by the exporting country's government, making imports artificially cheaper and harming domestic producers.
- Safeguard Duty: A temporary duty introduced to protect a domestic industry from a sudden and damaging surge in imports.
- Anti-Dumping Duty: Levied when goods are imported at a price below their normal value in the exporting country, creating unfair competition for domestic producers.
The tariff changes from 1990-91
- The average tariff declined from 125 per cent in 1990-91 to 13 per cent in 2014-15, according to a study.
- However, since 2014 there have been around 3,200 tariff increases, with the largest increases occurring in 2018, according to a paper by economist Shoumitro Chatterjee and the former chief economic adviser to the government of India, Arvind Subramanian.
- These large tariff increases, which can be traced to the government’s call for atmanirbharta or self-reliance, have meant that the average tariff rate has risen to around 18 per cent, affecting a sizeable segment of the country’s trade basket.
- India’s tariffs are amongst the highest in the world.
- In fact, they are not only higher than those of China (7.5 per cent), but also countries like Vietnam (9.6 per cent) and Bangladesh (14.1 per cent) — India’s competitors in the China plus one strategy.
- High tariffs place manufacturers at a disadvantage, affect export competitiveness and hurt consumers.
India’s protectionist policy is hurting its manufacturing sector
- Alongside this growing protectionism, the targeting of Chinese imports post the Galwan clash is also now being seen as impacting domestic output or loss of competitive advantage in sectors such as electronics and pharmaceuticals — China accounts for a sizeable share of India’s imports, especially inputs in key sectors and capital goods.
- According to a report in this paper, sections within the government have begun raising these issues, favouring a more nuanced approach.
- This should spur conversations in the government on its approach towards promoting manufacturing and facilitating exports.
Government is rethinking its tariff regime on some imports
- Reportedly, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had also earlier this year pressed for reducing duties on parts including circuit boards, chargers and fully assembled phones.
- Groups representing cell phone manufacturers had said that the country’s high tariff structure is a disincentive to de-risking supply chains beyond China.
- Seeking to be attractive alternatives for mobile manufacturers, countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Mexico are lowering tariffs on phone components.
- There are some indications of a rethink on the issue — a day before Union Budget 2024-25, the government announced a reduction in the import duty for components used in the manufacturing of mobile phones from 15 per cent to 10 per cent.
- This is the right approach. Erecting high tariff walls allows inefficient domestic players to survive, and hurts consumers.
The signing of FTAs must be priority
- Alongside, the government must press ahead with signing trade agreements.
- After initially showing some hesitation, it has signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with the UAE and an economic cooperation and trade agreement with Australia.
- It is currently negotiating agreements with other countries such as the UK.
- It must pursue similar pacts, including with the European Union.
Conclusion: Erecting high tariff walls allows inefficient players to survive, hurts consumers. Government must review industrial and trade policy.