MUMBAI: India's foreign minister said on Saturday (Aug 23) that trade negotiations with Washington are continuing but there are lines that New Delhi needs to defend, just days before hefty additional US tariffs are due to hit.

Xu likened the US to a "bully", saying that it had long benefitted from free trade but was now using tariffs as a "bargaining chip" to demand "exorbitant prices" from other nations. "US has imposed tariffs of up to 50% on India and even threatened for more.