How a big corporate house is trying to deal with all the massive geopolitical uncertainty playing itself out the world over. Joining us now, one of the icons of Indian industry, Sunil Bharti Mittal. Thank you very much, Mr. Mittal, for joining us. You know what I love about the fact is that you're so out and about trying to find out what's happening, wrapping your head around all the geopolitical issues. Donald Trump was here in Davos. What did you make of his speech? And you were among the few Indian businessmen who actually had an opportunity to be part of a meeting with him. How was that?
Predictable. I think everybody expected him to be going off script, which he did. There's too much noise, and as Secretary Besson said, don't react to noise, keep your calm, things will get better. I believe that in the end, the US is an important part of the world, one of the most economically powerful, militarily powerful nations. But it is still a democratic nation where if things go completely out of hand, things will start to come back. What is important is for the world to know the old world order has certainly shifted. Now where will it land up? What new institutions will come through it? Something has to give now. Europe will have to come together as a voice. No more fragmented Europe, and together through Brussels it doesn't work. Have one voice. You can't have a situation where two leading heads of state have a strong reaction and two say no, we must compromise. It doesn't work. Europe in the next 10 years would have made their own arrangements on defense, on security, on intelligence sharing, on satellites, GPS, but it'll take 10 years. They have been, if I may say, Europe has been on a vacation, and when you come back from a vacation you can either be very charged up to do things or you could be in a lazy mode, not do much. What Trump has done, I think, is shake them up very hard. I think Europe is acting now.
Is there a method in the madness that you see, or do you only see madness?
There is a method. There's a method. Ask for the moon, settle for the stars.
How should India be dealing with Donald Trump given the fact that he actually did impose the tariffs? You know, in the case of Greenland, now he's pulled back against Europe, but in India he's stuck with the tariffs and he's giving all kinds of threats. What's your sense as a corporate leader how the country should be dealing with Donald Trump?
I would say India has dealt well. Although I know there's a lot of people who criticize India could have done this, India could have done that. As I mentioned, I'm in the world of business but I am also a student of geopolitics. I personally feel India has done well by keeping quiet, not reacting to the noise. Our leadership has had a calm approach towards the whole issue. They engage Foreign Minister Jaishankar at every level. I had a chance to meet Secretary Howard Lutnick yesterday. You can see that underlying things are moving now. India is focused on the EU deal. Hopefully next week the EU deal should get inked.
How significant do you think that is? Ursula von der Leyen called this the mother of all deals. How significant would an India-EU free trade agreement be?
I think it'll be big. You know, because the EU needs a big country. China is not the natural choice. The US is in a difficult situation. India with 1.5 billion people becomes a continent for Europe to have access to, and equally, over a 25 trillion dollar economy that the EU jointly has is meaningful for India. I would say this will be a good cushion for India and also gives it strength to negotiate with the US better.
What are you making of all the turbulence in the India-US trade negotiations? We're hearing all kinds of rhetoric. The other question that's now being asked in Davos is, is there any purpose in Delhi and DC having a deal given that Donald Trump could, a few weeks, months, years later, change his mind like he's done with the EU? You work so hard on getting to the finishing line and the guy could change his mind.
Yeah, but India, when it happens, it will be done.
Not India, I'm asking about the India-US deal and the trouble that we are facing.
No, but I think once the deal is done, it gets settled. I don't think it'll get reopened between India and the US. You can still see that the US has called India back onto the table on the strategic semiconductor piece. Yeah. So Pilica you have come on to the space program, the critical technologies, the iCET which was established is being reinvigorated. India has receded on buying oil from Russia which was irritating the US, and of course a few issues on pulses and agriculture and those things on the margin where India may relent a little bit, but largely it cannot. I think America understands that, and my own view is it'll get settled. It's a matter of maybe a couple of months.
