 "'Not a setback': India calls Trump's new tariffs 'a mixed bag'")
India is weighing its response to a fresh 26 per cent tariff proposal unveiled by US President Donald Trump in a typically fiery speech on ‘Liberation Day’, where he railed against what he described as India’s unfair trade practices.
The move threatens to complicate ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries, but Indian officials appear unfazed, insisting that the decision, while serious, is not a setback.
‘Not a setback’
Speaking with characteristic bravado, Trump brandished a chart claiming a 52 per cent tariff burden on US exports to India, declaring, “India, very, very tough. Very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left. He’s a great friend of mine, but I said, ‘You’re a friend of mine, but you’re not treating us right.’” The president argued that for decades, the US has charged “almost nothing” on Indian goods while American products have been subjected to stiff duties.
In response, a senior Indian official confirmed that the Ministry of Commerce is currently assessing the impact of the proposed tariff, with the implications under close review. “It is a mixed bag and not a setback for India,” Times of India quoted the official as saying, adding that discussions with the US to finalise a first-phase bilateral trade agreement are ongoing, with hopes of conclusion by September or October.
A numbers game
While the political theatre of Trump’s announcement has captured headlines, trade analysts say the numbers don’t quite add up.
On a weighted average basis, India’s tariffs on US imports stand at 7.7 per cent, compared to 2.8 per cent on Indian exports to the US. That’s a gap of 4.9 per cent– a far cry from Trump’s 52 per cent figure, which appears to have been calculated using broader metrics that include non-tariff trade barriers and peak duties rather than actual applied rates, according to a report by JM Financial.
The most affected sectors, should the 26 per cent tariff be enacted, would likely include telecom equipment (20 per cent of Indian exports to the US), drug formulations (10 per cent), jewellery (16 per cent), and garments (10 per cent)– a handful of high-value categories that together make up more than half of India’s $77 billion export basket to America.
With inputs from agencies
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