 "U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands as they attend a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2025. Reuters")
India has reportedly expressed its willingness to cut tariffs on more than half of US imports worth $23 billion as part of the first phase of a trade deal that the two countries are discussing with days to go before Trump’s retaliatory tariffs kick in.
Government sources have told Reuters that the Indian government has found an internal analysis that Trump’s reciprocal tariffs would hit 87 per cent of its total exports to the United States worth $66 billion.
In a White House press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, US President Donald Trump had described India as a “tariff king” and a “big abuser” while discussing trade barriers, emphasizing the difficulties of selling to the country.
Trump often singles out India as the country with the highest average tariff rates, among top trading partners, while European Union countries are criticized for their high 10 per cent car tariff rate, which is four times the 2.5 per cent US passenger car rate, but less than the 25 per cent US tariff on pickup trucks.
What does the deal say?
Under a new trade deal between India and the US, New Delhi is open to reducing tariffs on 55 per cent of US goods it imports that are now subject to tariffs ranging from 5 per cent to 30 per cent, said both sources, who sought anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
In this category of goods, India is ready to “substantially” lower tariffs or even scrap some entirely, on imported goods worth more than $23 billion from the United States, one of the sources said.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsOverall the US trade-weighted average tariff has been about 2.2 per cent, data from the World Trade Organization shows, compared with India’s 12 per cent. The United States has a trade deficit of $45.6 billion with India.
With inputs from Reuters