Luxembourg Deputy PM Xavier Bettel: ‘Tariff war is a lose-lose situation… you just make it more expensive for consumer’

When there were wars, notes Luxembourg Dy PM Xavier Bettel, luxembourg Deputy PM Xavier Bettel: 'Tariff war is a lose-lose situation.

Key points

• In November 2020, the then Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, held the first virtual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• 9 min read New Delhi Sep 8, 2026 05: 20 AM IST.
• How does the India-EU Free Trade Agreement impact the bilateral economic relationship between Luxembourg and India?
• What are the areas of cooperation agreed upon during your conversation with Foreign Minister Jaishankar?
• After President Donald Trump assumed office, there has been a tendency to be protectionist; there are tariff wars going on right now.

9 min read New Delhi Sep 8, 2026 05: 20 AM IST. Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel.

In November 2020, the then Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, held the first virtual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, as Deputy PM and Foreign Minister, Bettel. This person is on a three-day official visit to India, held discussions with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday. After the discussions, Jaishankar stated "trusted partnerships" between India and Luxembourg have assumed "great relevance in times of global uncertainties and disruptions".

In an exclusive interview, Bettel. This person was the PM of Luxembourg between 2013 and 2023, discussions concerning bilateral ties in fintech, AI, tariff wars, immigration and the Russia-Ukraine conflict ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India for the BRICS summit. Edited excerpts.

Since then, we have done a lot in logistics, additionally in finance. We have additionally strengthened ties in education, we have hundreds of Indian students in Luxembourg's universities.

AI, logistics, finance, satellites, space. We have a major Indian community in Luxemburg, we love them. I love Indian food, I love India, and we have successful firms in Luxembourg as of the Indian knowledge.

Now it's the framework. We need to put elements in the framework. Since now we have this FTA, to see how we can have new opportunities, so that's the reason why I think it is significant. Indian firms do not know what are the opportunities in Luxembourg, and Luxembourgish businesses do not know what are the opportunities in India now. We need to bring them together. I see some firms in payments and Indian businesses which need European licences and see the opportunities to come to Luxembourg. But I'm sure there will be Luxembourgish firms which don't yet know everything they can do in India, and so I need some time to put them in front of the opportunities to show them.

After President Donald Trump assumed office, there has been a tendency to be protectionist; there are tariff wars going on right now. How do you view these tariff wars?

I think tariff wars, at the end of the day, are a lose-lose situation. There is no winner since someone needs to pay the tariff, and so you just produce it more expensive for the consumer, and especially you know when you see this escalation – you do 50, we do 50, you do 60, we do 60. At the end of the day, it's in fact the middle class consumer who pays the cost. Rich individuals don't care if it costs 2, 3, or 10 per cent more. It's the middle class and less fortunate individuals who pay the rate of commercial wars; we destroy jobs, we destroy economies. So it's a lose-lose situation. So I don't like commercial wars, and it's a pity that for some it is for protectionism that they think that tariffs are the new rules. I would love that in the World Trade Organization we are able again to have dialog and constructive work.

You have come here just ahead of the BRICS Summit. It russian President Vladimir Putin will additionally attend. This will be his second visit in less than 10 months. What should the Indian administration tell the Russian President concerning the war in Ukraine?

That we won't rewrite history. So there is one aggressor that is Russia, that is a fact. We can't, we won't change history. I had a lot of contacts with President Putin and President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy at the beginning of the war. I'm happy that your Prime Minister and your Minister of Foreign Affairs went to Moscow and to Kyiv since mostly residents visit one, not both, and we need someone to talk to them. When we will have to count how plenty of residents died, how plenty of have been destroyed, it's a shame, but at the end of the day. And if I would still have contact with President Putin, I would tell him why. He offered me explanations at the beginning. I still have no reason why this war should continue. He will have to justify to orphans in 15 years why their father died, and he will have to explain to mothers in two years why their son died for nothing. I hope someone will be able to tell him that it is easier to start the war, than to finish the war. That's leadership.

Do you think India's purchase of Russian energy has funded the Russian war machinery?

I don't know the figures now. If it's significant, not notable. The fact is, we should avoid financing the defence industry and letting funds come in. But then you need alternatives. As long as this war is on, if you have alternatives, I would prefer the alternatives than the Russian ones, to be particularly honest. But the fact is, with Russia we had history, we had common interests, we shared the continent, we had common goals, and I'm so sad that everything has been destroyed this last year. When I meet Russian individuals during holidays, they don't know if they should say they are Russians or not, and that makes me sad, as everybody needs to be proud regarding their roots and history, especially for me, my grandmother is Russian, and I feel that even today. A lot has been destroyed, and it will take time to build it again.

Meanwhile, an anti-immigration mood has emerged in the US and in some parts of Europe as well. We just saw AfD win the elections in a state in Germany. You talked regarding the Indian community in Luxembourg. How do you view this immigration debate from where you are?

For context, the difficulty is, we just see the negative parts. We have to know that our continent was built with migration. When there were wars, individuals migrated from Europe to other countries when there was not enough food. So we additionally looked for a better future. You have subjectivity and objectivity. Objectivity is the fact that we need migration, but we need regulated migration. Subjectivity would be that you say we don't control migration, so it is significant to have borders that are functioning, mechanisms that are functioning, and additionally countries taking back the individuals that are not allowed to stay. And this is exactly what makes AfD and other parties solid. It's this subjective feeling of insecurity, migration, injustice, uncertainty, housing, jobs, future, all these questions where, in fact, we have no answer. When I read the papers today, all the Democrats will tell you, oh, this is such a shame, it's an attack on democracy, the elections in Germany. No, it was an election. It's the individuals who have chosen, and we need, instead of complaining and blaming them, to find answers to their questions. Since the difference between me and the populist is that I often have the most complicated answer to the easiest question, and the populist has the easiest answer to the most complicated question, if we don't find them, they will continue. But if his solution is right or not, nobody will complain. So that's the fact. We fact-check to tell this is not feasible, and to be honest. But we should not blame the individuals. We should blame ourselves.

Cooperation in fintech is a major topic of conversation in India and Luxembourg. What is the next step?

I think we are working a lot. If it's blockchain, if it's all these different things that we had, there is cryptocurrency. We could have all the spectrum of all what is in fintech. But for me, what is significant is that we have trust, as. Trust is most significant, especially in finance. If individuals lose trust, they won't trust. And this is the biggest thing. But the whole AI is a challenge. I don't want to be negative, but I'm sure AI will have a massive impact on jobs too in India. A massive, enormous impact. So it is significant to be ready for this AI revolution. It will change our lives in 10 or 15 years. It doesn't mean that we need to stop it, but we need to have a legal framework since if we don't have a legal framework, I don't want afterwards that my constituency residents are convinced by AI fake videos, by fake information. They've gotten advice from an AI doctor that they want. Human contact is still the basis of trust and relations. We should not forget that.

In short, luxembourg Deputy PM Xavier Bettel: 'Tariff war is a lose-lose situation. You is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.