Trump Retreats, China Roars

JANUS VIEW

Trump Retreats On China Tariff; India’s Growth Spark Skips Rural Poor

Donald Trump has celebrated his 100th day in office, claiming the initial one hundred days of his second term to be the best for any US president in history. His supporters, gathered at a rally in Michigan for the occasion, roared their approval. The American economy contracted during the glorious first three months of the Trump presidency, according to US national income data. The world continues to reel in shock and awe.

Canadians have joined China in showing the US president the middle finger. They elected as their next prime minister former central banker Mark Carney, whose chief political plank has been his determination to resist Donald Trump as he tries to break Canada.

Trump Walks Backwards

April 30 was not being celebrated by Trump alone. Vietnam celebrated the 50th anniversary of its victory over the world’s mightiest nation the same day. Goliath has been rampaging again, seeming to have forgotten the lesson the tiny, backward nation had given him with ferocious determination five decades ago. This time, it might be China’s turn to take the slingshot, though.

Trump claimed that the Chinese are negotiating with the US to secure a deal. Beijing clarified that China is not in talks with the US and refused to accept US bullying. If the US wants to talk, it should cease fire, withdraw the tariffs it imposed on China, Chinese spokesmen have made it clear. This shows that Trump wants to back away from the unsustainable position he has taken and is seeking ways to retreat while saving face.

Meanwhile, In India…

The Indian economy gives out signals of growth revival, but the growth would appear to have skipped the bottom of the pyramid. Fast-moving consumer good sales continue to be slow in rural areas. But the more premium goods have seen some brisk action, ranging from liquid detergent (hoi polloi use powder) to sports utility vehicles and luxury cars. Direct tax collections and GST collections continue to climb new heights, suggesting that economic activity is robust among the well-off.

India’s markets have seen the return of foreign portfolio investors, and the markets continue to recover. Company results sustain the momentum, for the most part. Remarkably, the Indian markets have not seen India-Pak conflict as a major risk factor, even as the markets have tanked in Pakistan.

The Indian government has also decided to conduct a caste census. Could it open up a Pandora’s box?

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CORE NUMBER

2.06 Million

This is the total number of vehicle registrations in April 2025 — a 7.5% year-on-year drop, according to VAHAN data reported by Financial Express. Sequentially, sales fell 4% from 2.15 million units in March. Passenger car registrations dipped nearly 10% month-on-month to 318,681 units, while electric vehicle (EV) sales dropped 37% from March, but still rose 30% year-on-year on a low base. Two-wheeler sales were the only bright spot, up 7.5% month-on-month. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers projects muted 1–2% auto sector growth in FY26, citing affordability concerns and weak urban demand.

—💻 Inventec Enters India! The Taiwanese firm Inventec Corporation announced a partnership with Noida-based Dixon Technologies; the two will set up a manufacturing facility in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu to manufacture two million laptops and notebooks for brands like HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer each year, and Dixon will hold a 60% stake in the facility. Dixon traditionally assembles electronics, but is venturing into manufacturing as well. The two companies are taking advantage of the Indian government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing IT hardware products.

—✈️ Airbus Refuses to Shoulder Tariff Costs. Airbus says it is not responsible for paying the extra cost of tariffs on the planes it sells to American airlines, according to a Livemint report. During a conference call, Airbus’s CEO said the company pays duties on parts it imports to Alabama to assemble them but that its customers like Delta Airlines and American Airlines would be responsible for paying US President Trump’s infamous ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs. Already, the CEO added, the aviation supply chains have not recovered from coronavirus's disruptions–these new tariffs only add more uncertainty to the whole situation.

—✈️ Runway’s (Still) A Runaway! Noida International Airport (NIA) is once again taxiing toward delay, missing its May 15 launch target. Despite big talk and tight deadlines, key infrastructure like the terminal’s steel roofing and sewage systems remains unfinished. With only 80% of the work done, Uttar Pradesh is slapping the project with Rs 10 lakh daily fines. Regulatory snags from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) aren’t helping either. While officials scramble to save face, options like launching cargo ops or partial terminal use are on the table. Until then, the airport’s grand debut? Still stuck in the boarding lounge.

—🛢️Coal Still King. India has extended its directive for imported coal-based power plants to run at full capacity till June 30 to meet soaring summer electricity demand. These 15 plants — including giants like Tata Power and Adani — account for 17 GW of capacity and are critical as India’s renewable share in power generation remains low. Despite its green energy goals, the country is still heavily reliant on coal to power homes and businesses. Under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, the directive allows these plants to recover higher costs due to pricey imported coal. Peak power demand is expected to hit 270 GW in June.

NASSCOM CONVERSATIONS

AI Should Complement, Not Replace Human Cognitive Skills, Says Neuroscientist Anil Seth

The arrival of artificial intelligence language models such as Chatgpt has made humans rethink the role of technology in our daily lives. These language models can speak like us and can mimic human beings quite well.

Neuroscientist and author Professor Anil Seth told The Core that most people were surprised by how compelling these language models are at mimicking human speech and human language.

But where are we headed in terms of the confluence of man and machine? Seth said, “There are many, many differences between AI systems in general and language models in particular, and how human brains work. If we forget about these differences and get seduced only by the apparent similarities, then I think we may be making some fundamental mistakes about what kinds of systems we deal with.”

Scientists and researchers are also working to make AI more humanlike and make it more efficient. But is that the right direction they’re taking?

Seth said there’s an unspoken assumption that the direction of AI is to become increasingly human-like and then to exceed human-like intelligence. Scientists are also working towards the horizon of artificial general intelligence (AGI), where AI will have the intellectual and cognitive capabilities of a human being.

“But the question for me is, is that really where we should even be going? And it may be a narrative that's more driven by science fiction and even by this sort of very human tendency to want to build systems in our own image,” said Seth.

Seth said that builders of AI should be thinking about it to complement the cognitive abilities of humans, rather than replace them.

PODCAST

On Episode 570 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj takes you through the biggest stories in business and manufacturing.

• US markets roil after negative GDP growth

• Investors are now selling US corporate bonds

• Oil is back around $60 a barrel

• Two Indian companies including Adani scrap ambitious chip manufacturing plans

• GST collections hit all time high in April

👥 THE TEAM

✍️ Zinal Dedhia, Salman SH, Kudrat Wadhwa | ✂️ Rohini Chatterji | 🎧 Joshua Thomas