Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

In governance and military tactics, he may have outmatched Ujjwal, but in negotiation and business matters, the man sitting right next to him was a few thousand feet above him.

"Ujjwal, are you sure you do not want to work under me?" Narai looked a little hopeful. With this man by his side, he was confident that no matter who came, his nation would never lose out on the negotiation table.

Ujjwal, unfortunately, shook his head. "I am extremely sorry, Your Highness. Your invitation—I really cannot accept it."

Narai was a little disappointed, but not for too long since this was already the second time he had asked the guy. He returned to normal quite quickly, but he was still doubtful. Why was this guy so adamant about not accepting his kindness? All his other colleagues had already decided to be employed by the Southeast Asian kings—some had even planned to directly emigrate.

"Can you tell me why?" he asked, curious.

Ujjwal was a little hesitant, but he turned around and explained, "Your Highness, I always had the dream of starting my own business, but, Due to inexperience, i didn't know of what sort. It was only after I graduated from university and did internships that I got the idea to start my company. And that idea was to provide consultancy services to local businesses looking to expand overseas and overseas businesses looking to expand into local markets."

"This was a business model that no one had ever started. Such a company does not even exist, and no one knows what its profits will be. But I firmly believe that this is a very profitable industry. So I looked for various investment firms and various investors, but unfortunately, since my idea is an untested one, no one was willing to provide me loans on good terms. Either the money is too little, or the interest is too high."

"I was going to give up on this idea, but after coming to assist all of you kings on behalf of the Bharatiya Empire, I once again realized how huge the business prospects for my idea are. So I feel unwilling to just give up. I will go back and try once more—maybe people will have more trust in my idea after knowing my experience here."

King Narai felt a hint of admiration for the man next to him. Although he could not understand half of the things he said, he could still understand the feeling of being unwilling and not accepting defeat.

"How much do you require?"

Ujjwal was shocked when he heard this question from Narai. He soon realized what this question could mean. "Your Highness, you…?"

"Yes, I will loan you the money. So tell me, how much do you require?"

"2-200,000 Varaha, Your Highness."

"How many Phot Duangs is it?"

"Um… Your Highness, I do not know what one is worth, but in the value of gold, it is around 4.5 kilograms of gold."

Narai fell into brief thought. This much money was enough to employ a man and his family for a full year. It would be enough to purchase a significant piece of land for a large infrastructure project or support a noble family for years. The amount was unexpectedly large. However, since he himself had benefited greatly from Ujjwal's services, he could also imagine that many others would benefit.

"Alright, I will lend you this money."

Ujjwal was immediately overjoyed. "Thank you, Your Highness! I will not forget your kindness. I will return the money in full within a year, and I will take the initiative to pay you 25% interest in the form of the company's stock."

Narai didn't really want the interest, but looking at the man who was almost about to cry, he did not refuse him.

"Alright, let's do as you said."

---

Eventually, by evening at 5:00 PM, all the negotiations had come to an end.

The tariffs were divided into eight different categories:

1. Agricultural staples

2. Marine products

3. Spices and herbs

4. Textiles

5. Processed food and sugars Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

6. Crafted goods and metalware

7. Luxury and protected items

8. Strategic resources

For agricultural staples, nearly all the participants of the ASEAN meeting imposed a 5% tariff on agricultural imports from member nations.

For marine products, it was similar since almost all Southeast Asian countries have large coasts or are coastal nations. So, the tariff imposed was 25% in order to protect the local marine industry which supported a large part of the population. The only exception was the country of Lan Xang. Due to being landlocked, marine products were not too common in the country. Hence, in order to introduce marine products to the country, the tariff rate was set at 0%.

For spices and herbs, the majority of the kingdoms and nations produced a variety of spices, so the tariff rates varied. For the Toungoo Kingdom, Ayutthaya Kingdom, Chenla Kingdom, Đại Việt Kingdom, and Đàng Trong Kingdom, the spice tariff was set at 10%. For the United States of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Mindanao, it was set at 15%. Finally, for the Lan Xang Kingdom and the Sulawesi Confederation, it was set at 5% because, compared to the other nations, spice production in their countries was relatively underdeveloped.

Textiles were a category where almost all Southeast Asian countries had some level of scale, so the tariffs were relatively high. The Toungoo Kingdom, Chenla Kingdom, the United States of the Philippines, and the Kingdom of Mindanao had a tariff of 20%. The Ayutthaya Kingdom, Đại Việt Kingdom, and Đàng Trong Kingdom had a tariff of 15%. Finally, the Lan Xang Kingdom and the Sulawesi Confederation had a tariff of 10%.

Processed foods and sugars were another field where every nation was involved, so the tax rates ranged from 15% at the highest to 10% at the lowest.

Crafted goods and metalware saw tax rates from 25% to 15%. Luxury and protected items had the highest tariffs, ranging from 50% to a minimum of 30%. Finally, strategic resources similarly ranged from 50% to 30%.

Reading the tariff list, Vijay was very satisfied. However, flipping over the page, he was really taken aback because, apart from deciding on tariffs, somehow five different agreements had been signed while he was away.

One was the Mekong Agricultural Exchange Accord, signed between the Lan Xang Kingdom, Chenla Kingdom, and Ayutthaya Kingdom. For these three kingdoms, the agricultural staples tariff would be reduced from 5% to 2.5%, and processed foods and sugars in internal exchanges would be reduced by 30% from the base price. This whole agreement was based on the Mekong Basin, one of the most fertile regions shared by the three kingdoms.

The second was the Coastal Fisher Protection Act. This was signed by nearly all the kingdoms, including the Toungoo Kingdom, Ayutthaya Kingdom, Chenla Kingdom, Đại Việt, Đàng Trong, the United States of the Philippines, the Kingdom of Mindanao, and the Sulawesi Confederation. According to this protection act, marine products traded directly among coastal signatories would have their tariffs reduced from 25% to 15%.

The third was the Silk and Spice Confederation, signed by Đại Việt, Đàng Trong, Ayutthaya Kingdom, and Chenla Kingdom, in which the tariffs were reduced from 20% to 15%, fostering cultural exchange and protecting traditional industries.

The fourth was the Precious Metals and Arms Regulation, signed by the Toungoo Kingdom, Đàng Trong, Đại Việt, the United States of the Philippines, and the Kingdom of Mindanao. The provisions of this agreement enforced a uniform tariff of 50% on arms, precious metals, and fine silks to standardize defence trade practices and protect regional strategic interests.

Finally, there was the Regional Metal and Craftsmanship Alliance, signed by all nine Southeast Asian countries. This provided a reduction of 10% of the base tariff for artisanal and crafted goods, meaning the tariff had been reduced from 25% to 15%.

Vijay could see that these agreements were suggested by people from his empire and that they would greatly benefit Southeast Asian countries, but he frowned because some of them were not acceptable to the Bharatiya Empire.

" The Bharatiya Empire is willing to open its market to Southeast Asian countries "

" It is also willing to let Bharatiya companies establish branches in your countries bringing in investment and development "

" It is also willing to provide preferential tariff policy for all goods and services exported from ASEAN countries "

" And finally the Bharatiya Empire is the primary nation responsible for security in southeast Asia "

" As the emperor of the Bharatiya Empire, I ask everyone to reconsider the tariff plan you are going to impose on goods and services from the Bharatiya Empire "

Vijay directly declared that he was not satisfied with how the tariffs were imposed on the Bharatiya Empire. He definitely did not want to provide security for the Southeast Asian region for free; at the very least, he had to get paid.

Very soon the negotiations started once again a whole new tariff bill was put forward which was only targeted at the Bharatiya Empire, The previous tax bill was then internalised within the ASEAN Nations

Eventually, three different tax bills were created: the internal ASEAN bill, which features the tariffs imposed within ASEAN nations; the Bharatiya tariff bill, which outlines the tariffs imposed on goods and services from the Bharatiya Empire; and finally, the international tariff bill, which governs the tariffs for importing goods and services from other countries.

In the end, all ASEAN countries agreed to maintain a 2.5% tariff on agricultural staples for the Bharatiya Empire, 15% for marine products, 8% for spices and herbs, 20% for textiles, 10% for processed foods and sugars, 20% for crafted goods and metalware, 40% for luxury and protected items, and finally, 40% for strategic resources.

Vijay thought about it and nodded in agreement. The tariff bill imposed on the Bharatiya Empire was basically very similar to what was applied to other Asian countries, and in some cases, it was even better.

With Vijay's signature, the first ASEAN Economic Summit eventually came to an end.

Historical researchers far in the future marked this day as the one that set the foundation for the establishment of the Eastern Union, a group of Eastern nations that came together to make things better, easier, and safer for the people.