About 55 per cent of India’s merchandise exports to the United States will be subject to the tariff imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, the Indian government said on Monday.
Last week, Trump imposed an additional 25pc tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to the US to 50pc — among the highest on any American trading partner.
The Indian government had taken into account the 25pc tariff that Trump initially imposed on goods while providing Monday’s estimate, Pankaj Chaudhary, India’s junior finance minister, said in a written response to a question from a lawmaker.
“The Department of Commerce is engaged with all stakeholders, including exporters and industry, for taking feedback of their assessment of the situation,” Chaudhary added.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he would not compromise on the agriculture sector, a day after President Trump announced 50pc tariffs on Indian goods.
New Delhi also put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft, according to three Indian officials familiar with the matter, in India’s first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades.
Goods trade between the United States and India — the world’s biggest and fifth-largest economies, respectively — was worth about $87 billion in the last fiscal year, according to Indian government estimates.
