India, April 24 -- The imposition of unilateral tariffs by the US on China in 2018 marked the onset of a conflict that rapidly expanded beyond a bilateral dispute into a global tariff war. This escalation, particularly pronounced during the second term of the Trump administration, signalled a departure from the post-Cold War paradigm of rules-based globalisation and liberalised trade that had facilitated decades of shared economic progress. In a symbolic declaration of economic sovereignty, President Donald Trump proclaimed April 2 as "Liberation Day," framing the imposition of tariffs as a strategy to restore domestic prosperity by opening foreign markets and dismantling trade barriers. This vision materialised through the implementation...