New Delhi, Aug. 28 -- For former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, Donald Trump's decision to slap a 50% duty on Indian goods is less about fairness and more about power.

He argued that tariffs are no longer just about trade economics, but part of a larger strategy to project political and economic might.

Rajan traced this worldview back to the 1980s, noting that Trump has long seen tariffs as a way to "level the playing field." Beyond that, the former US President treats them as a tax on outsiders.

He added that tariffs had increasingly become a form of coercion in international politics.

"It can be a way for the US to essentially use force when it doesn't want to use its military," Rajan said. "Other countries suffer."...