NEW DELHI: Responding to US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports, the Indian Commerce Ministry said that it is currently evaluating how the decision will affect domestic industries.
“The ministry is analysing the impact of the announced tariffs,” a senior government official said.
They also noted that there is flexibility built into the US policy. “There is a provision that if a country addresses the concerns of the US, the Trump administration can consider reducing the duties against that nation.”
According to the official, the first phase of a universal 10 per cent tariff will take effect on all imports into the US starting April 5. The remaining 16 per cent, which will bring the total duty to 26 per cent for India, is scheduled to be enforced from April 10.
“The ministry is analysing the impact of the announced tariffs… It is a mixed bag and not a setback for India,” the official stated, noting that there is scope for negotiation. The Trump administration has indicated that if a country addresses the US’s trade concerns, the duties could be revised in its favour.
The reports have suggested that the Indian government has set up a control room, with senior ministry officials closely monitoring and tracking developments.
India had sought an exemption ahead of the tariff decision, with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal visiting Washington DC last month for talks on a bilateral trade agreement. The visit was aimed to address the potential tariff hike and strengthen economic ties.
Declaring April 2 as “Liberation Day”, US President Donald Trump announced the tariffs on Thursday morning (IST).
“This is Liberation Day, a long-awaited moment. 2nd April 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again. We are going to make it wealthy, good, and wealthy,” Trump announced.
Trump specifically called out India’s trade policies, stating, “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. They charge us 52 per cent.”
It is to be highlighted that India had already taken steps to address US concerns, including reducing customs duties in the Union Budget on February 1.
This lowered peak import tariffs to 70 per cent from 150 per cent, with average tariffs dropping to below 11 per cent from 13 per cent.
Agencies