At a White House Rose Garden event on Wednesday on what he called “Liberation Day” for the US, India became a middling victim in Trump’s take-no-prisoner approach that treated friend and foe alike with a two-tier tariff: a baseline tax of 10% on all countries that will go into effect on April 5, and additional tariffs on some countries that he considers to be the “worst offenders”, which will be imposed on April 9.
India, described by Trump as the ‘tariff king’, makes the US President’s ‘worst offender’ checklist because, by his calculation, New Delhi taxes US imports to the tune of 52%, a dubious figure arrived at by adding perceived non-monetary, nontariff barriers, ‘currency manipulation’ etc. China was assessed at 67%, Taiwan at 64%, and South Korea at 50%.
But out of the ‘kindness of his heart’ he would impose not a ‘commonsense reciprocal tariff’ but give a 50% ‘discount,’ Trump said, thus making it 27% tariff on imports from India.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far – both friend and foe alike. Foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream,” the president of the richest country on earth raged in remarks that were borderline offensive and distasteful.
Financial markets plunged in response. Some $2tn of market value was wiped out in S&P 500 stocks alone as the index fell 4%, its worst day since Sept 2022. The dollar experienced its largest single-day decline on record, dropping 2.1% against major currencies.
The ripple effect of Trump’s sweeping tariffs will reshape global trade flows, disrupt supply chains, and test longstanding diplomatic alliances. As countries scramble to respond, the economic and geopolitical fallout is likely to be deep and enduring.
India's reaction: The govt said it would seek to “expeditiously” clinch a “mutually beneficial” bilateral trade deal with the US and reiterated its commitment to strong strategic relations.
Sources said the commerce department is consulting export councils and ministries to gauge the fallout and explore support for affected businesses.
With PM Modi and Trump agreeing to a bilateral trade agreement later this year, India and the US have finalised the broad contours of detailed discussions with technical negotiations expected to be launched this month. This, sources said, gave India a lead over others who will now begin an engagement with the US to seek tariff cuts. “India was an early mover and over the last 50 days a lot of work has been done. The idea is to settle all outstanding bilateral trade issues,” an official said. The assessment is that the Trump administration too is keen to engage and a deal can be crafted by lowering a few duties in India.
India, described by Trump as the ‘tariff king’, makes the US President’s ‘worst offender’ checklist because, by his calculation, New Delhi taxes US imports to the tune of 52%, a dubious figure arrived at by adding perceived non-monetary, nontariff barriers, ‘currency manipulation’ etc. China was assessed at 67%, Taiwan at 64%, and South Korea at 50%.
But out of the ‘kindness of his heart’ he would impose not a ‘commonsense reciprocal tariff’ but give a 50% ‘discount,’ Trump said, thus making it 27% tariff on imports from India.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far – both friend and foe alike. Foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream,” the president of the richest country on earth raged in remarks that were borderline offensive and distasteful.
Financial markets plunged in response. Some $2tn of market value was wiped out in S&P 500 stocks alone as the index fell 4%, its worst day since Sept 2022. The dollar experienced its largest single-day decline on record, dropping 2.1% against major currencies.
The ripple effect of Trump’s sweeping tariffs will reshape global trade flows, disrupt supply chains, and test longstanding diplomatic alliances. As countries scramble to respond, the economic and geopolitical fallout is likely to be deep and enduring.
India's reaction: The govt said it would seek to “expeditiously” clinch a “mutually beneficial” bilateral trade deal with the US and reiterated its commitment to strong strategic relations.
Sources said the commerce department is consulting export councils and ministries to gauge the fallout and explore support for affected businesses.
With PM Modi and Trump agreeing to a bilateral trade agreement later this year, India and the US have finalised the broad contours of detailed discussions with technical negotiations expected to be launched this month. This, sources said, gave India a lead over others who will now begin an engagement with the US to seek tariff cuts. “India was an early mover and over the last 50 days a lot of work has been done. The idea is to settle all outstanding bilateral trade issues,” an official said. The assessment is that the Trump administration too is keen to engage and a deal can be crafted by lowering a few duties in India.
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