New Delhi, Nov. 18 -- In dealing with US President Donald Trump on the commercial front, many countries would attest that one axiom holds good: that his political interests matter. China, for example, exploited the finer details of America's electoral map in framing its retaliation to US tariffs.

Last week, Trump lifted 'reciprocal' import duties on a selection of grocery items-from coffee and spices to fruits and their juices. Since these are not easy for the US to substitute with homegrown produce, levies on their import had pushed up their retail prices and made people grumble.

Tariff relief in the case of these items was clearly driven by White House sensitivity to the cost of living. Retail inflation in the US has hovered around th...